


File #13: The One Who Cries At Night

by Ayama_chi



Category: Ghost Hunt
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-06
Updated: 2010-08-01
Packaged: 2017-10-09 22:57:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 40,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/92501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayama_chi/pseuds/Ayama_chi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"People started turning up dead, all having apparently been pushed or jumped from our yard." SPR are asked to take on a case, but when strange attacks are turned against them and Mai's sixth sense on hyperdrive, will they be able to get out in one piece?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A few things about the story:
> 
> **Spoilers:** You could say that the story contains direct references for all chapters of the anime, but in truth I based it on the manga and the novels (those of which I could get my hands on) so there would be spoilers for those as well. I will make a footnote for things that were taken from the novels/manga which were not mentioned in the anime.
> 
> **Disclaimer:** Ghost Hunt doesn't belong to me, in any form.
> 
> **A/N1:** I would like to thank the best beta in the world, Enedre - you're amazing!
> 
> **A/N2:** Throughout the story there going to be all sorts of phrases and words in Japanese. I will mark everything I feel needs clarification with a number, so if you want to know something further just scroll down to the bottom of the page to match the number with the footnote.
> 
> **A/N3:** I can't help but be proud of myself. This story has been brewing in my head for two years, and to think that I could return to it and actually write it is commendable, I believe. Also, it's my first Het story. So... cheers for me!

_A few days ago. _

Mai sighed, her head sinking to rest on her arms on the desk. Somehow, she thought that taking a dual degree in Philosophy and Religion and History would be easier, especially since she was surrounded by fine representatives from most of the major religions in Japan. Now she was stuck with an essay to write on Karma as the law of cause and effect due in a week's time, and she had no idea where to start.

Truth be told, it was Yasuhara's idea that she do it. She'd managed to get by and even pulled decent grades mostly thanks to him (though Bou-san turned out to be quite a genius in biology and chemistry), and she had appreciated the help because as much as she hated to admit it she knew that Naru was right. Her part time job had taken precious time away from her studying hours. But after graduating and finding out she had been up to par with the university's standards she was at a loss on what to do next.

_ "What would you like to do?" Yasuhara asked as they both sat down at a table facing the window and the quiet street where the café was located. It was her treat as a thank you gesture for all of his help and patience._

_Mai shrugged, looking on the menu for some jasmine tea she had heard was brewed nicely at that café. "I don't really know. I've never given it much thought, and now all that I'm interested in is hunting ghosts…" She trailed off, smiling awkwardly. "But I guess that there's no university here that teaches that," she hastened to say._

_Yasuhara looked contemplative. "No, there isn't. But you could study history and theology and it might just come close," he said, settling for ordinary coffee and, after the disappointed look Mai sent him, a plate of cocoa cookies. _

_Mai looked at him dubiously. "Would it?" she asked, unsure._

_Yasuhara laughed. "Isn't it what we're doing for Shibuya-san all the time? Researching history and religious rituals in order to dispel spirits," he explained. _

It was meant to be a surprise. The fact that Mai had passed the entrance exams and that she got the acceptance letter was something only Yasuhara knew about, and Mai was planning on telling everyone else after they were finished with the Yoshimi case. But then Naru had collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, his incredible powers were revealed and during the ride home he had found his brother's body and the truth came out.

Mai sighed, now miserable.

Naru was Professor Oliver Davis.

She knew that Bou-san knew. He wasn't surprised when Naru told them, and his admiration for the British professor began to dim slightly during the two cases they worked on before Naru's return to England. Lin knew, of course, and Masako told Mai that she had figured it out because she was in a convention of the American branch of SPR where the demonstration of Naru smashing the 50 kilogram aluminum brick into a wall using his PK was screened. Even Ayako admitted that it answered a lot of questions and John revealed that he had asked his friends to ask around about Shibuya Kazuya as he hadn't believed that such a brilliant researcher was still so anonymous and found out through that.

Only Mai, stupid, stupid Mai, had never thought to question Naru's sharp intellect, the strange power he had shown or the way he seemed to know things he shouldn't have merely from strolling in a room with his hand outstretched to touch things. Sure, she knew that Naru wasn't completely Japanese, his eye color gave him away if nothing else, but she had never thought to connect the dots. There were many other clues, like Naru's inability to read Kanji, the fact that Lin always wrote in English and Naru had numerous books in that language yet very few in Japanese, his apparent rudeness as he didn't follow Japanese customs like bowing, his dislike of the media. The biggest giveaway was probably Madoka sending Naru to uncover the fake professor Davis in the Miyama case, which brought forth the question: why would they both care so much?

And only stupid, stupid Mai had her awkward love confession thrown back in her face with all the patient and care Mai knew Naru possessed and had always hoped he would display more often. She was in love with his brother? Mai huffed in irritation. She didn't even _know_ Naru's brother. And to top it off, he was a terrible workaholic. It was fine as long as she thought that it was Naru who was visiting her dreams, but how sad was it to keep working even after you're dead!?

After that, Naru returned home and the team disbanded. Mai never got the chance to tell Naru that she was going to university and after the way he patiently assured her that she would see his brother again in an answer to her feelings, she didn't particularly want to. And after he was gone, Mai knew that Bou-san was wrong when he said that she was the ribbon to tie them all together.

In truth, it was Naru.

Sure, she still saw them all. Bou-san always picked her up to drive her to his concerts, Ayako came once in a while to take Mai shopping (Mai never bought anything in the stores Ayako favored because she couldn't afford it) and even Masako found a way to visit her. Masako would always come with John, who she claimed was the single person other than Naru she could stand, and always found an excuse to join him on his weekly visits of Mai. Yasuhara met with her several times a week since they both attended the Hongo campus of the University of Tokyo, and in fact, it was with him that Mai had met Naru again upon his return to Japan.

Two months after Naru had left, Mai and Yasuhara were celebrating Mai's first week as a university student. Yasuhara treated Mai to a cup of coffee to celebrate her first week of university, both their budgets tight, and they were lounging in their favorite café in Dougen Zaka in the Shibuya district when a car pulled to the curb next to where they were sitting. Out came Naru, smirking, and while they were both busy gaping offered them both a job.

Mai sighed, regretful. If Naru had given her words any thought, it didn't show. He was still the ice prince and still traded barbed remarks with Mai, almost as if his being Oliver Davis, brother of the dead person who frequent Mai's dreams, had not turned Mai's life upside down.

Naru had come purely for scientific reasons this time. He wanted to hunt ghosts in Japan, he said, and he needed his team back. Lin came with him, even though Naru was no longer a minor. If it wasn't for Lin, Mai would have thought that she was offered her job back solely because she was with Yasuhara when Naru offered him his.

Unlike Naru, Lin had brought both Yasuhara and Mai a humble present, a sign that he expected to see both of them again and not just Yasuhara. Mai fingered the thin leather bracelet on her left wrist absently as she thought about it. It was a simple braided bracelet which had a protection charm woven into it. Lin had made one for each of them, saying that if they were going to work as ghost hunters they would need every protection they could get.

So she was hired back to work for SPR, who she now knew was the Society for Paranormal Research. She still clipped articles with potential for having a connection to something supernatural every day, and still made Naru about ten cups of tea a day. And while it was a relief to know that she had a steady source of income, she was still at a loss on what to write for her essay.

Mai sighed.

"Another one, Taniyama-san," Yasuhara interrupted Mai's wandering thoughts.

"Huh?" Mai replied unintelligently.

"You've just sighed five times, and that's an odd number. Don't you know it's unlucky?" Yasuhara wore his best self-important expression and his tone was serious, but Mai could see the amusement dancing in his eyes.

Mai smiled. "It's fine. It's just that I have an essay to write about Karma for my Buddhism course that I have no idea how to begin," she complained good-naturedly.

"Then why don't you ask Takigawa-san for help?" Yasuhara sounded genuinely interested, and Mai bolted from her chair with a gasp.

"That's right! Bou-san's a monk!" she exclaimed, and then smiled, embarrassed, at Yasuhara. "I guess I forgot that," she said, laughing nervously.

"I fail to see how, seeing as we have all started calling him 'Bou-san' because of you," a calm voice came from the other end of the office, and Mai turned to see Naru standing at the entrance to the reception area, looking at the both of them. "Did you find anything interesting in the papers today?" he asked, looking at the paper clippings neatly arranged on both their desks.

"Nothing, boss," Yasuhara answered cheerfully, seemingly forgetting Naru's stern speech about the importance of the task. 'Good cases can't be trusted to come into the office via the front door,' he had told them both when he had returned.

Mai also shook her head, watching bemusedly as Naru bent down and retrieved the topmost half-cut paper from her waste basket. Slowly, he spread the paper on her desk and turned it towards her so that she could read the letters that had not fallen pray to her scissors.

"Then what would you call that?" Naru asked, and Mai bent down to read the article his finger had tapped. The headline read: _ 'Mansion stays unsold, buyers are all fleeing'. _ The sub headline added: _ 'Fear of vengeful spirits chase away potential buyers. So far sixteen people were killed due to undetermined circumstances'. _

Mai looked up at Naru, confused. She remembered that page, remembered that article. It even had a picture of a lovely ancient Japanese mansion attached to it. There was no need for them to try and guess where the supernatural link was, the headline was practically screaming it. She had no idea why she hadn't clipped the article, and swiftly took her scissors in her hand and reached for the paper…

Her hand stopped before the scissors could touch the paper itself. A cold sweat broke on her forehead and she felt like her lungs were being squeezed. She was frozen on the spot and she didn't want to move any closer to the article Naru had indicated.

Mai frowned. It was absurd. Pulling her hand back and stealing a glance at Naru's stoic face, Mai once again tried to reach for the paper and once again found that she would rather write an entire encyclopedia about every Buddhism concept there ever was rather than clip that particular article.

"Mai," Naru's voice cut calmly through her anxiousness. "Bring me the clippings to your left," he instructed, and Mai was more than happy to do as he asked, reaching for the requested clippings. As she made to hand them over to Naru she noticed that both him and Yasuhara were looking at her strangely, and that Naru's hand wasn't outstretched to receive what he had asked for.

"At least she's not possessed, boss," Yasuhara said thoughtfully.

"Which was exactly why I asked her to do something else," Naru agreed, and Mai threw him a resentful glare. Sure, she had acted strange, but if he thought she was possessed he could have at least pretended to be worried.

Naru paid her no mind. "It makes me wonder how many other potential cases we have missed because of Mai's animalistic instincts to shy away from danger," Naru said thoughtfully, but before Mai could even start getting indignant about his choice of words he continued. "Mai, from now on you will clip all papers by yourself. Yasuhara-san will go over your waste and see if there was anything you might have skipped over."

Mai gaped at him. First he thought she was possessed, then he insulted her and now he was doubling her workload? How was that fair!?

Once again, she was not given a chance to open her mouth. Yasuhara cut in quickly, sending Naru his most brilliant smile. "Ah, but boss, I would be bored to tears," he claimed, taking the paper Mai had been unable to touch and swiftly clipping the small article. "Would you like me to investigate further?" he asked Naru with a winning smile.

The sound of the bell chiming as the door opened interrupted whatever it was that Naru was about to say, and in came two visitors, a man and a young woman around Mai's age. The man was probably in his mid-fifties yet had deep creases on his face that made him look older. His hair was graying and his eyes were sad. The woman next to him had to be his daughter, there were similarities between them, but she was delicate and elegant, with hair dyed a deep chestnut color. She wore no makeup on her face.

Mai got up and swiftly sidestepped Naru to welcome the guests, sending him one last glare as she went pass him. She was not going to have her workload doubled because of one mistake.

"Welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research, I'm Taniyama. How may we be of assistance?" she asked, bowing respectfully.

The man and woman bowed back. "Sorry to intrude. I'm Toyama Shoutaro and this is my daughter, Toyama Himiko," he introduced them both. His eyes strayed over to where Naru and Yasuhara were still standing, and then widened. "We actually came to ask for your help regarding that," he said, pointing at the clipping Yasuhara still had in his hand.

"Really!?" Mai asked, awed by the coincidence.

"Then please be seated. I'm Shibuya, the president of the company," Naru introduced himself without bowing, and then turned to his assistants. "Mai, tea. Yasuhara-san, please take notes," he instructed, seating himself elegantly on the sofa while Mai directed both daughter and father to the couch opposite him.

Mai went to the kitchenette and brewed the tea in silence, listening to the story their visitors had to tell.

"Our family first bought the mansion seven months ago. My wife always wanted to design and direct weddings, and she had good taste and a good eye. People always came to her for consultations and eventually we decided to buy a romantic place and open a business of our own. When we were offered the resort on Mt. Myoujin we eagerly bought it as it answered all of our prayers, but soon strange things started happening. People started turning up dead in the valley below the house, all having apparently fallen or been pushed or jumped from our yard.

"We investigated a little, and found that it was not the first time this has happened, and that it was well known that something paranormal is responsible for it. We tried to sell the mansion, but no one wanted to buy it from us, and two more people were found dead in the meantime.

"A number of purifications were conducted in the mansion, but nothing helped and in the meantime the business' reputation was ruined and no one would come to us anymore. The next body to be found was my wife's, and that was when we decided to come to you," Toyama-san finished just as Mai came out with the tea, and Mai felt a pang of sadness for him.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she told Toyama-san sincerely, and handed him his tea. She said the same thing to his daughter, understanding now why she wasn't wearing any makeup and why she was dressed in a plain black afternoon dress. They were still mourning.

"So far I have heard nothing to convince me that there's a paranormal power responsible for the occurrences," Naru stated mildly, accepting his tea and drinking without saying the traditional 'itadakimasu'(1) like their guests had done.

Mai knew that he was trying to be cautious. Their last three cases were disastrous, to say the least. The first case after Naru came back took place in a haunted house where the police was after Naru, suspecting him for having murdered his own twin. The second one after that was of yet another haunted house, which was haunted by the family's teenage fostered child. Their last was what had Naru so on edge, since a string of apparent supernatural killings turned out to be a ruthless serial killer who almost had a go at Ayako and John before being caught. Needless to say, the police weren't happy that Naru was involved yet again.

"What do you mean?" asked Toyama Himiko, her eyes widening in surprise. It was clear that she had never expected him not to believe their story.

"Mt. Myoujin is an isolated place. The nearest town is an hour's ride and the next village is pretty small. People tend to get bored, and so far from what I've heard we could be looking at suicides or a serial killer on the loose," Naru stated bluntly.

Toyama-san's creases deepened when his brow crinkled. "There's also this," he said somberly, pulling out a simple tape recorder and hitting the play button.

It was hideous.

From the speaker rose the sound of many woman crying, wailing in deep anguish, their sounds overlapping and on occasion, tuning together to produce a horrid, ear piercing sob. Mai's eyes went wide and her hands shot up to cover her ears, stumbling as a sense of dread shot up her back. She collapsed on the sofa next to Naru, who was clearly surprised to hear the cries, and she turned away into the soft cushions in a feeble attempt to escape.

"Those women…" Mai mumbled as she uncovered her ears in order to clutch at her aching stomach. There was something inside her that screamed at her to run. Her animal instinct, she knew. Black spots were dancing in front of her eyes. "They're suffering… so much…"

Naru turned his head towards her worriedly, one hand grasping her shoulder to keep her from falling off the sofa. "Stop it," Naru ordered sharply. Toyama-san pressed the stop button and the silence was even more piercing, but also comforting and peaceful. He looked expectantly at Naru.

"Are you alright, Taniyama-san?" Yasuhara hurried to her, concerned, and served her a cup of lukewarm tea which Mai gulped with relief. Once Toyama-san had stopped the tape recorder she felt much better, and even managed to smile weakly in response to both him and Lin, who came rushing from his office ready to fight at hearing the horrible sounds.

Naru's hand left her shoulder and he returned to being all business-like, not even acknowledging Lin's presence. "When did you record this, and where?" Naru asked, curious. Mai was recovered but still a little shaky, and wondered if he wasn't at all affected by the horrible sounds. Of course not, that workaholic, she thought disdainfully.

"After the cremation of my wife's body I went for a midnight stroll in the garden. I wanted to speak to her but felt silly talking to the empty air, so I took the recorder with me. Just as I was passing the place where she had allegedly fallen it got really cold and those wails started. I didn't know what to do, so I stood there and waited for it to stop," Toyama-san shivered, his face paling. His daughter held his arm tightly, and he sent her a grateful look. "It's not something I ever want to experience again," he told them candidly.

"There's more," Toyama Himiko said, speaking in the unsteady voice of someone whose nerves were wrecked and who was on the verge of collapsing. "Sometimes we can hear knocking sounds on the screen doors coming from outside, but when we open the doors there's nobody there. Also there's a desk in one of the rooms that we keep in the corner, but sometimes it moves to stand next to the window on its own. One time it got so cold in the garden that the water in the pond started to freeze, even though it was late March, and one time all the furniture was arranged in identical right angels. And then… sometimes I think I can see people walking in the house at night!" she told them, anxious and on the verge of hysterics. It must be hard to live for so long in a haunted house, Mai reflected.

"And now it's getting worse. One night the entire house shook from the loud banging, and the lights went off. When the lights came on again there were deep scratches on all of the doors. Please, we can't go on like this!" Himiko-san cried. Her father patted her on the shoulder to calm her, but she stared at Naru imploringly.

Mai looked at Naru, sitting beside her, curious. It was a classic case, she knew it, but she had mixed feelings about him taking it. The Toyama family was nice, and certainly in need of their help, but those cries were horrid. And Mai's uneasiness still lingered from when Naru wanted her to clip the article about them being unable to sell their mansion.

"We'll take it," Naru said, predictably. "We will need three rooms at our disposal, two for sleeping and one for our equipment. It needs to have several electric sockets as we would be bringing in computers and cameras. We would also require the blueprints of the house, if you have any. You may expect us in two days," he told the Toyama family, who looked gratefully at him.

"Whatever you need," Toyama-san said, getting up and bowing deeply. "Thank you!"

After they left, Mai looked at Naru. "We're really going?" she asked quietly, unable to ignore her intuition.

Naru looked at her solemnly for a long time, almost as if considering it and debating with himself. "You could always stay home," he informed her eventually, completely serious, before turning away.

Mai folded her arms on her chest defiantly. "Like I would do that," she replied morosely as Naru returned to his office and left her alone with Yasuhara-san.

Yasuhara-san looked at the article in his hand. "Well, I hear that the Nagano prefecture is lovely this time of year," he told Mai cheerfully, clapping her on the shoulder. Mai simply sighed.

"Good, Taniyama-san! Now it's even!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to say that in my calculations I have missed out a year, do the ages of the characters are wrong. Howeverfor I see little point in fixing this now, and Mai remains a first year university student and Yasuhara a second year. An adittional note about the timeline will be posted when due. And thanks Seiyuurabu for pointing it to me.

Chapter 1

_May, day 1, mid-morning. _

They had been traveling for four hours already, and the atmosphere in the van was beginning to get strained. Lin hadn't said a word since they got off the 147 highway, which wasn't all that rare except for the frown that adorned his face in addition to his silence, and Naru next to him looked displeased as he went through the maps in his hands. Mai and Yasuhara were in the van too, of course, and with them were John, Bou-san and Ayako. Bou-san had given up his small red Honda and Ayako her classy BMW, both preferring to travel in the van with Naru. Masako was due to arrive on her own in two days, as she had prior engagements.

Once they got off the highway and started climbing up the mountain, Lin had slowed down the van and took extra care as he drove them along the twisting roads, even though Mai and Yasuhara had gotten up early to secure the sensitive equipment in preparation for the journey. The twisting roads also made Ayako motion-sick, and she was now leaning through the open window with a green hue to her face.

"Lin-san, can't we go any faster?" Ayako demanded, but she sounded more pathetic than angry. Mai felt sorry for her, and reached her hand past Bou-san to rub her back in circular motions unhelpfully.

Lin grunted in reply, something Ayako probably didn't hear due to the noise of the wind in her ears.

"We would have gone a lot faster if you hadn't insisted on bringing half the house with you," Bou-san muttered, his patience at an end. He was the one who helped Ayako load her two heavy bags onto the van earlier, and it had taken twenty minutes to arrange the bags in a way that would allow them to actually close the trunk.

"I asked Matsuzaki-san to bring as much equipment as she could," Naru said shortly from the front seat next to Lin. Mai turned to look at him with surprise, but Bou-san merely nodded in understanding.

"Why is that?" she asked, curious.

Naru met her eyes through the vanity mirror on the passenger's sun visor. "As a university student shouldn't you be able to use your brain?" he asked, mildly annoyed.

Mai frowned. "If you don't want to tell me, just say so," she told him exasperatedly, the tight quarters and slow driving starting to get to her as well.

"Psst, Mai-chan," Bou-san nudged her. "It's a remote location and we're dealing with a paranormal phenomenon that got more violent recently. If we need help, it won't get here quickly and Ayako is a doctor," he explained, and Mai suddenly understood. As hard as it was to believe, Ayako was actually a much sought out doctor. She only served as a priestess on her free time, and because she had a talent with trees.

Bou-san patted Ayako's back. "At least you should be able to be of some use here, right? With all those trees around-" he started, but Ayako's hand suddenly flew up and hit him on the head. "Oi! What the hell was that for!?" Bou-san demanded of Ayako's shoulder, since she hadn't even been able to lift her head up. Mai doubted that the hit had been hard, seeing as Ayako was still not feeling well.

"Down payment on…" Ayako stated, half turning, and the rest of what she said was lost in the wind when Lin picked up speed as the road became straighter. Her voice came back in, "…and I'm not sure we would want to use that particular power of mine. The trees here are strangely sad and angry," she added some time later, voice somewhat faint, before returning her head out of the window. Mai looked at the trees that lined the narrow road from either side of them, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. It looked like a regular forest.

Bou-san looked worried. "Are you sure you're alright? You're sticking your head out of the window like a dog," he said, effortlessly catching Ayako's flailing hand as she tried to hit him again. "As a doctor why didn't you take some pills against motion-sickness?" he asked. His only answer was a litany of unintelligible, unflattering sounding words.

John laughed nervously, like he always did when Bou-san and Ayako started to fight, and scratched the back of his neck. "I wonder if there's still a long way to go?" he asked Mai and Yasuhara, who sat on either side of him.

Yasuhara was sitting behind Lin and attempting to read a book, though Mai doubted that he actually read any of it because he hadn't turned the page since Bou-san and Ayako started fighting. She was secretly happy because she too had a lot of homework for the weekend but had left her books in her bag in the trunk, and seeing him trying to study was making her feel guilty. Now Yasuhara looked up from his book and smiled tiredly at the priest.

"I doubt that we have much farther to go," Yasuhara assured them. They were going through a fine layer of clouds and mist and Lin had once again slowed the van down, turning on the headlights. "The peak is very close, so we should see the place once we've passed the clouds that surrounds the middle of the mountain," he told them with his usual cheerfulness.

"I heard that this place is a very popular climbing area. I wonder why they didn't build wider roads through the range," John mussed aloud.

"Yes, I heard that as well. Makes me feel pity for Masako-chan," Bou-san joined in.

Mai looked at him, surprised. "Eh? Why's that?" she asked. A private car with no expensive equipment would be a lot more comfortable to ride in on this kind of road. If anything, Masako should be feeling sorry for them, but Mai knew she would never do that. Only Naru would probably win her affection, as always.

"Mountains are notorious for being filled with spirits, Mai-san, but most of them are not malicious. They are the spirits of people who had gotten lost in the mountains and died there, or were killed by wild animals. Essentially, they are looking for the way back home, but have no one to guide them," John explained.

Mai was horrified. "So when Masako get here, she would see many spirits wandering about? Everywhere?" she asked, shuddering momentarily. Sometimes she wished she had some more useful psychic powers like Masako, but at other times she thought that maybe even Masako would want to be rid of them if the price was so high.

"Isn't it dangerous?" Yasuhara asked. They were once again driving in full sunlight and Lin was speeding up a bit. "You once explained that spirits that linger around humans too much can absorb their beliefs and eventually turn vengeful," he elaborated. Even Naru was listening, Mai could tell because his eyes had stopped moving on the maps he was reading.

"Like John said, these are not vengeful spirits. They are lost, and in the mountains there are very few people from which they can absorb distorted beliefs. In fact, mountains are very popular for building shrines and temples, so some of those wandering spirits sometimes turn into protecting deities of the places where they died, and then they can bring good luck," Bou-san explained, nodding his head sagely.

His self importance was ruined, though, when the van made it through a sharp turn in the road and pulled to a stop in a parking lot of a very large and magnificent old Japanese mansion and he was jabbed in the hip and made to jump in surprise by Ayako who was frantically trying to unbuckle the seatbelt and fumbling in her rush to get to solid ground. She was bent over, leaning against the side of the car and heaving heavy breaths when Mai finally climbed down and looked around.

The house they were invited to was amazing. The parking lot was paved with red and blue stones, arranged both to mark the parking spaces and to create beautiful stars on the ground. That, however, was obviously a later addition. The house itself was easily a hundred or so years old, towering high with curving, pagoda like roofs and ornate eaves. Parts of the roof were pinched up to contain windows for the rooms in the upper floor.

The ground floor was surrounded by a porch, which was delineated with elegantly carved wooden safety railings. Mai noticed with apprehension that some sections of it were positioned directly on the mountainside, close to where the mountain slopped down, and were supported by heavy beams. When she edged towards the railing of the parking lot she could see a sea of mist underneath them.

All in all, it was a beautiful ancient Japanese mansion.

And when Mai turned her head to the entrance she could see Toyama Himiko running towards them, her face pale and a bandage secured over her forehead. Despite the fact that she was dressed in a simple kimono and was wearing geta she was running very fast(1).

"Toyama-san," Mai stepped forward and greeted, while Yasuhara, the last to remain in the van, finally stepped out.

"Thank goodness you've arrived," Toyama Himiko sounded like she was on the verge of tears, and Mai frowned.

"Did something happen?" Mai asked, and was surprised when the young woman grabbed her hand and physically dragged her into the house. The others, Mai could see, were swift in following them.

"You have to see it for yourselves," Himiko-san said, her voice high and strained. "We've had it all changed, we really did! And last night it happened again," her voice broke. She dragged Mai up the steps and into the house, from which Mai could only see long, well kept wooden Rouka(2) corridors typical for old style Japanese houses, only stopping when they reached the first of the shoji doors.

Mai gasped.

The shoji wasn't simply cut – it had been shredded to pieces. The plain, cream-colored washi(3) was torn to pieces, barely still holding in place as the bamboo grid was broken and standing out like jagged bones.

A pale hand came to touch one of the tatters, and Mai turned to see Naru standing next to her, a troubled expression on his face.

"Please, help us," Toyama Himiko whispered, tears running down her cheeks and her voice soft with terror. "Every door is the same. We have just repaired all the doors and last night they were all broken again, and only seconds before that happened something pushed me so strongly I sailed through the air and hit the wall. We can't keep living like this," she said, and broke down crying.

"She's having a panic attack," Ayako said, placing her arm around the slender, trembling shoulders and guiding her away. "I'll take care of her," Ayako assured Naru, disappearing down the wide hall. It was nicely decorated, with lanterns sitting next to each door to supply some light for anyone who would walk it at night, and on the walls were paintings of mountain scenery and calligraphy works.

"That's a spirit with some grudge," Bou-san said, his hand cupping his chin as he leaned forward to inspect the ruined shoji.

"We don't know anything yet," Naru reminded him, and turned suddenly. It took Mai a second to realize that someone was coming down the hall, and that that someone was Toyama Shoutaro.

Toyama Shoutaro looked even more tired and old than Mai remembered. It was obvious that the family had spent a sleepless night, and Mai couldn't blame them.

Toyama-san bowed. "Thank you for coming all this way, and please, forgive my daughter's behavior. She hadn't been able to calm down since her mother's death. She's very rattled at the moment, but I'm afraid that there's nowhere we can go. No one will buy this house from us and I would need time to raise the money to buy another one," he bowed again.

"Yes, we've seen that you're unable to sell the house," Naru stated.

Toyama-san gestured with his hand and led them a few doors down the hall to a set of rooms, each eight tatami big and separated with Fusuma panels(4), which were obviously prepared for them. "I hope that these rooms are fine. Someone from the village below is due to arrive at any moment to fix the doors once again, so I imagine that by tonight they will be usable," he said, leading the way into the middle room and pointing to the multiple electricity sockets imbedded into the walls.

"It's fine. Yasuhara-san, Lin, unload the equipment into the base," Naru instructed, before turning back to Toyama-san. "I would like to see the rest of the house," he asked politely.

"Of course," Toyama-san said, leading the way out of the room and down the corridor. "I would like for this to be solved quickly. I'm afraid for our safety, and I'm afraid for my daughter's mental health as well," he added, showing them the large kitchen and the dining room attached to it. The dining room hosted a large traditional low dining table and Mai resigned herself to having her legs go numb again with a small sigh.

"What do you mean, Himiko-san's mental health? Has an attack like this happened before?" John asked, concerned as well.

Toyama-san shook his head ruefully. "Sometimes she thinks that the spirit in our house is her mother's. She was very close to her mother and her death had impacted her hard," he explained with a heavy voice.

Naru surveyed the sparsely furnished shoin(5) with a quick look, barely giving Mai time to see it properly before moving on. "Was there any indication that the spirit haunting this house is familiar with your family?" he asked as Toyama-san led the way to the garden.

"Not that I could see," Toyama-san replied, opening a broken shoji gingerly and leading them outside onto the porch surrounding the house.

"Oi, Naru-bou, this is starting to get a bit strange," Bou-san commented, still inspecting the shoji from which they exited the house.

Naru was looking at the shoji as well. "I agree," he responded, his hand touching the broken bamboo.

Mai came to stand next to him, wondering if he was using his psychometry at the moment and if he was, what he was seeing.

"Usually a spirit haunts only the inside of the house, therefore it will not destroy any doors connecting the house with the outside," Naru explained without being asked, a contemplative look on his face.

Mai was starting to feel uneasy again, knowing that Naru wasn't one to be easily worried, but the feeling was forgotten when she turned and saw the stunning garden in front of her.

Out in the garden were magnificent sugar maples and Japanese black pines, with a trail of white pebbles winding between them. As Mai followed the trail with her eyes she could see a small pond full of water lilies, and the sound of the water moving told her that there were probably Koi fishes playing just under the big leaves that covered the surface. Flowers were everywhere, and there was even a small rock garden where an arrangement of rocks made a fascinating pattern on the ground.

And in the distance, just shy of the edge of the cliff, was a small, typical Japanese gazebo, round and with a sloping roof and carved railing.

"Wow, it's beautiful," Mai said, awed.

"Yes, it sure is," Bou-san came to stand beside Mai, breathing in the crisp mountain air. "Is this where you planned to conduct the ceremonies?" he asked Toyama-san, pointing at the small gazebo.

"Yes. This was what had caught my wife's eye when we first got here," Toyama-san confirmed. "This is also where I recorded the crying," he added, pointing at the trail leading to the gazebo.

"Good. Mai, we'll put one camera here. Ask Yasuhara-san to help you with the cables. I want you to place a camera in every room of the house and take temperature readings. I'll go over the blueprints with Lin at the base. We'll begin working on this immediately," Naru turned to Mai, seemingly unaffected by the stunning view in front of him.

"Hai," Mai responded readily. He really was a workaholic. She wondered if there was a cure for that, or a pill she could sneak into his food.

"Then why are you still loitering here?" Naru's voice roused her from her thoughts, and she swore he only did it because he knew what she was thinking about. With a crisp salute, which made Naru roll his eyes exasperatedly, Mai ran off to the base before he found something else for her to do.

~*~*~*~*~

_Day 1, early evening. _

Mai entered the base, rubbing her aching arms. She and Yasuhara had just set up eighteen cameras in all of the rooms of the house save for a couple, but Yasuhara had been called back by Naru to finish researching the history of the house.

It was a pretty simple task, setting up the cameras. Mai positioned the camera to catch most of the room, and directed it according to Naru's or Lin's instructions over the headphones. After the camera was placed to Naru's satisfaction, Mai needed to take temperature readings in every corner of every room, twice, and make an average of the results. The problem was, when she had to carry eighteen cameras and their cables back and forth across an enormous mansion, it began to get exhausting.

The base was already set, mercifully, having been prepared for work by Lin and Yasuhara while the rest of the team was outside with Toyama-san. Ayako, John and Bou-san were touring the house on their own, and could be seen through the cameras inspecting the garden and the upper floor. Himiko-san was still sedated in her bed, but Ayako had assured them that she would wake up soon, and hopefully be calmer.

Mai approached Lin and handed him the temperature readouts from the rooms she had already set the cameras in, and he thanked her with a small smile. Ever since the Miyama case Lin had been much more approachable, and now that he was no longer required to keep an eye out for Naru (he was an adult according to the British law) and keep his identity a secret, he was slightly more talkative.

"Well, just two more to go," Mai said cheerfully to no one in particular, reaching for the two remaining cameras in their cases.

"Where are you heading now?" Naru asked, looking up from a data pad he was inspecting.

"The northern rooms of the first floor," Mai answered, arranging the looped power cables on her shoulders so that her hands would be available to carry the cameras.

"I'll come with you," Naru said, surprising her, and took one of the cameras before she could get to it. "I want to have a look at the northern bedroom where the desk keeps moving to stand under the window," he added, and Mai straightened up abruptly. She had forgotten about the moving desk, and it was dark outside already…

She was glad to have Naru beside her, even more so than usual. She didn't want to be alone in that room.

Naru walked side by side with her as they made their way to the northern part of the house, not talking and clearly busy inspecting the hallway and the paintings on the walls. Someone from town came by shortly after SPR had arrived and replaced all the shoji doors, although not with the same ones. Instead of the criss-crossing bamboo grid, the new doors had only a single strip of bamboo in the middle to support the washi paper. Toyama-san had explained that it was all they could get on such a short notice, and that the people from the town below were reluctant to come up to the house. He hadn't mentioned it, but Mai had a feeling that he had had to part with a large sum of money to get a repairman to come by once again.

The new doors were not as beautiful as the old ones, and Mai found it sad to see the house fall victim to a vengeful spirit.

"It's such a beautiful house," Mai said into the silence. Naru merely cocked an eyebrow to show he was listening. "Do you think that once this whole mess with the spirit is over Toyama-san will still try to turn it into a ceremony house like his wife wanted?" she asked Naru.

Naru merely hummed noncommittally.

"It must be terribly romantic to get married in such a magnificent house. I'm almost envious of the couples who'll come here to do it," she laughed a little at her own silliness, but Naru once again didn't respond.

They took a turn and started down another wide corridor, this one in the north wing of the house already, and Mai shivered. She was equipped with warm clothes, sure, because it was still May and the mountains were significantly colder than Tokyo, and it was still chilly.

"Ne, Naru," Mai turned to her boss once again. Of course he wouldn't be interested in romantic ideas or weddings, and he would want to talk about it with her of all people even less. The single time she had talked to him about her feelings, he claimed that she was in love with his dead twin brother, and Mai was weary of talking about it again and correcting his mistake.

"What is it, Mai?" Naru asked, his tone patient. He really was patient with her ignorance when they were alone, and he wasn't such a bully. Mai smiled.

"I've been wondering. The temperature readouts were very low in all of the rooms, and we're using temperature drops to detect paranormal activity. How then are we going to know whether there's a spirit in the room?" she asked, watching with apprehension as Naru entered the northern bedroom where the desk kept changing position.

The bedroom was sparsely furnished, like most of the rooms in the house, and consisted of an ancient looking desk, a wooden screen neatly folded against the wall and an empty cupboard for storing futons.

"Are you coming?" Naru asked, pausing in the entrance and waiting for Mai to catch up. Mai swallowed and nodded, unloading one of the cables she was carrying and connecting it to a nearby socket.

"As for your question, the temperatures are very low, true. But this is spring time and we can only expect it to climb up. Since you've measured most of the temperatures during after the sun had set, it can't get much lower due to natural causes. Therefore, if we'll register colder temperatures than the ones we've measured now we'll know that the cause is paranormal," Naru explained, helping Mai position the camera to catch both the desk in its current position and the window.

Mai measured the temperatures and shivered a little when the average temperature in the room turned out to be only 7°C. She was cold only from thinking about it, and the heating in the house was individual for each room. It was obvious that this wing of the house was not in use.

Mai looked at Naru, who was touching his hand to the old desk. "See anything?" she asked, curious. He had always done so discreetly, but now that Mai knew what to look for she could tell when he was using psychometry.

Naru removed his hand and shook his head. "Nothing useful. Many people used this desk, but I can't distinguish any particular emotion," he told Mai, making his way out of the room and taking the last camera with him. "The last room is the northern dressing room. We should finish there and head back to base."

Mai started to nod, but stopped when she noticed in the low lights of the hallway the outline of a door in the floor.

"Naru!" Mai called sharply, and Naru was immediately by her side. "A door in the floor," Mai pointed, but unlike what she had expected Naru didn't look surprised.

"It must be the basement. It's in the blueprints. In the past they used to build underground storing rooms in places where the weather was always cool because it helped keep the food from rotting," Naru said, taking the round ring connected to the trapdoor and pulling, and Mai was slightly afraid that they might find something horrific in there.

The last time she had opened a hidden door in the floor they found a hospital robe with a warning, _run! _

The trapdoor pulled open with a squeak of rusty hinges revealing a flight of stairs leading down, and before Mai could utter a word Naru had already disappeared into the darkness of the basement. Mai was left to either follow or remain alone next to a haunted room, and she was quick to go down after her boss.

Too quick, since she stumbled on the last step and collided with Naru's back.

"You do know that you are still paying for the first of my cameras that you broke?" Naru commented, his hand reaching out to the wall and suddenly the basement was flooded with light from one bare light bulb on the ceiling.

Mai shot him an irritated look. That insensitive jerk! Would it hurt him to offer her a hand to help keep her balance? "You have insurance," she reminded him primly, glaring when he smirked down at her. Like she would fall for that one a second time.

Naru turned to survey the basement, and with his back to her Mai realized that her glare was wasted on him so she turned to do the same. It was a long, rectangular room, about two meters high. The square hole in the floor (which from Mai's point of view was now the ceiling) was shown to be quite narrow, but the few stairs leading to it were wide and their slope shallow.

"It's empty," Mai stated the obvious, looking at the long shelves that ran along the walls. It must be very long, even if it was narrow.

"Yes, Toyama-san said that they didn't have the time to stock it before the haunting started. What's the temperature around here?" Naru asked, moving a little further into the room.

Mai pressed the button on the thermometer and put it near the wall, waiting for it to beep. When it did, she squawked. "Five degrees!" she cried, looking at Naru. She was cold, of course, but she never thought that it was _that_ cold.

Naru nodded, his expression indifferent. "That was to be expected," he said, watching as Mai pressed the button once again. Mai picked up the beeping instrument once it was finished measuring, and gasped.

"Three degrees!" she told Naru, voice low with nerves. Without being told, she pressed the button again, now holding the thermometer in her hands. The measurement wouldn't be accurate because of her body heat, but she needed to know.

The thermometer beeped, but by then Mai didn't need it to tell her that the temperature was zero. She could see it in the way Naru's breaths misted in front of him in steady clouds.

"Naru," Mai whispered urgently, trembling with cold and fright. The temperature was dropping, and another beeping of the thermometer showed it to be…

"Minus four?" Naru's voice was filled with surprise as he glanced over her shoulder at the small digital screen.

Then the lights went out, and Mai's breath hissed painfully fast from her lungs.

"Naru!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> (1) A kimono is a restricting type of clothing, and geta are a wooden clog-like footwear braced above the ground using two wooden "teeth".
> 
> (2) Rouka are wooden floored passages.
> 
> (3) Washi is the special paper imbedded in the shoji doors.
> 
> (4) An eight tatami room is equal to a room 12 ft x 12 ft in size. A Fusuma is an inner door, similar to a shoji, which can be used to redefine rooms inside the house and are easily moved.
> 
> (5) Shoin is a drawing room in traditional houses in Japan.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> I know I promised to update every Sunday, but I'll be taking a major exam for my university and I won't be able to update until the 9th of July at the earliest. I hope you can be patient until then, and in the mean time keep your fingers crossed and wish me the best of luck!

Chapter 2

_Day 1, night. _

Naru was a solid, warm presence beside her. "Quickly, Mai, to the trapdoor," he urged sharply, and Mai followed his silhouette towards the square patch of wane light above them.

They were already at the stairs when the trapdoor swung closed with a loud bang, startling Mai so badly she jumped and nearly fell backwards. She could hear Naru banging either his fist or his shoulder against the door, but it didn't budge.

"Mai, flashlight," Naru ordered crisply, and Mai rummaged around in her pocket, her fingers numb and clumsy with cold, to fetch the small flashlight she always kept with her.

"It doesn't work!" Mai cried desperately after pressing the button several times in vain. She wanted to say something more, wanted to climb up the stairs and help Naru push, but she noticed a spot of light at the other end of the hallway and her breath shuddered to a stop.

It was appearing.

Mai watched, terrified, while the dot of light grew and widened until it took the shape of a woman, her body wrapped in a ghostly kimono and her hair tied in a plain bun. She looked almost beautiful until she opened white, inhuman eyes and looked directly at them.

Mai trembled, stepping back as the woman started gliding forward slowly. _ 'Someone, please help! Where is everyone? Anyone, please!' _ Mai thought frantically.

The specter came steadily closer, now merely fifteen meters from them, and Mai backed away from her and up the stairs until she hit something warm and hard and nearly jumped out of her skin with fright.

Naru's hands landed on Mai's shoulders when she pressed back into his chest and when Mai risked a peak up at him, reassured that she wasn't alone even if she knew that neither of them was a match for the spirit power-wise, she could see in the faint light that he was focused intently on the ghost.

"Mai, calm down. Use the Fudou Myou-Ou and the Nine Words Bou-san and Matsuzaki-san have taught you," Naru instructed, voice low and reassuring next to her ear while his hands tightened on her shoulders briefly.

Mai angled her head to look at him, thinking that he must be joking. "I don't have enough power for that!" she argued weakly. Bou-san told her that she had the talent to become an exorcist, but she was far from that still.

"I'm not asking you to exorcise her. All I need is a little distraction to be able to break through the hatch," Naru told her, stressing the words, and Mai's eyes widened.

"You're planning on using Kikou? You can't do that! You'll faint again, or worse!" Mai called, turning her back to the spirit so that she could see Naru's face more clearly, her agitation momentarily overtaking her fear. She would never forget how Lin ran to Naru's collapsed body on the beach below the Yoshimi house and slapped him, shouting _ 'Naru, come on! Breathe!'(1)_

Naru's face was serious and set in the ghostly light, and Mai knew that he wasn't going to back down. "Would you like to wait and see what she will do? Did you forget the state of this house when we first came here?" Naru asked her, eyes staring intently into hers, and Mai was forced to nod in defeat.

No matter how this turns out, Naru would get hurt.

Well, it was only because he was such an idiot! The others are sure to notice their absence and come looking for them, right?

But then, Mai thought at last, maybe it was time that she got to protect Naru for a change.

Mai turned to look back at the apparition, now alarmingly close, and straightened her back. Naru's hands came to rest on her shoulders again, squeezing once in reassurance, and she interlaced her fingers into a Sword Seal(2) before breathing in deeply.

Mai started to chant.

"Naumaku Sanmanda Bazaradankan.

"Naumaku Sanmanda Bazaradankan.

"Naumaku Sanmanda Bazaradankan," Mai now had enough power to release it. She only hoped Naru was alright. She put together her forefinger and middle finger and cut the air in time with her words.

"Rin. Pyou. Tou. Sha. Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen!"

The last of the words of power she shouted at the spirit, and watched with dismay as it disappeared.

It wasn't surprised, like Naru had expected. _It was actually chased away_. Mai knew this because the frigid air became warmer and the light came back on.

"Naru, don't!" Mai turned to Naru, but luckily he hadn't used his powers yet and she let out a sigh of relief, which turned into a smile when he reached out his hand and effortlessly opened the trapdoor again.

Mai giggled to herself. "Did you see that?" she asked happily. "I chased it away. I'm great, aren't I?" she asked, full of herself. For once she was the knight in shining armor and she had gotten to save the day. It didn't happen as often as she would have liked so when it did she allowed herself to gloat.

Naru, however, was looking very troubled. Instead of making some sharp comment to cool her enthusiasm, he merely grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs and out of the basement.

"Come on, we're going back to base," he said, a strange urgency in his voice.

Mai frowned, jogging to keep up with his pace. He had a good twenty centimeters on her and his legs were longer. "Naru, what is it?" she asked, concerned and slightly out of breath.

"It's dangerous here, Mai," Naru said over his shoulder, not slowing down.

"But it's _gone! _" Mai insisted, trying to break free of his hold. She couldn't understand why he was so anxious to get back to base. Was he such a sore loser he couldn't bear it that she was the one who deserved all the credit for a change?

"Mai," Naru stopped and whipped around to look at her intently. "The spirit that's plaguing this house is obviously strong and violent. Such a spirit would not be chased off because of your weak powers, therefore the spirit we've just encountered is most likely controlled by someone stronger, and the faster we get to base the safer we are from _that, _" he explained, short and efficient, and without waiting for a reply resumed walking and dragging her after him.

Mai was quiet, looking around them tensely and now grateful that he was holding her hand. If it was any other time, she might have been angry that Naru had called her clerical powers weak considering he had none, but she knew that he was right. Whatever destroyed the shoji doors was violent and not likely to be spooked because of one weak Kuji aimed at it.

~*~*~*~*~

_Mai looked around her at the room she was sitting in. A warm breeze was coming from the window but it was still chilly and she was thankful to be wearing a warm kimono. The wind was carrying the scent of the flowers outside and mixed it with the scent of the flowers in the small vase on her windowsill, and Mai breathed in deep, feeling content. _

_Next to her treasured desk was a masterpiece of calligraphy, the_ Saiwa-I, _ the character for happiness. And she indeed felt happy. So happy she almost cried to release some of the wonderful sensation welling within her. _

_She waited until her maid finished rolling the futon and storing it away before taking the pen in her hand and dipping it into the inkwell, then bringing it to the white paper next to her(3). _

_'I have thought about you today. How you light up my life. I am so glad that I have met you, and even more so that I was able to reveal my feelings to you._

_'My bliss is a source of envy for all, yet I am not able to contain myself. Even Saeko cannot help but smile when I do, she knows I am so happy. _

_'I am never more of a princess than when I am with you and you show me your rare, warm smile, or when your eyes look so patient and tender when we gaze at each other. I have always been rich, but never before as rich as I am when you seal your soul in me for safekeeping. _

_'I am a strong person, I know that. But when your love fills me, I know I will never break.'_

_Mai sat back and waited for the ink to dry, not feeling inclined to dirty her hand with the drying sand in the container on her desk. She smiled as her mind drifted to her beloved._

_In her mind's eye she could see him clearly, as clear as if he was there with her._

_Naru. _

Mai woke up with a smile.

~*~*~*~*~

_Day 2, morning. _

Mai grimaced as she felt her legs go numb under her, and wondered how rude it would be if she switched to sitting cross legged(4). But she wasn't invited to do so, and so she was forced to be quiet and suffer the pins and needles of her blood flowing irregularly to her lower parts.

They were eating a delicious traditional breakfast Himiko-san had made, each with their own serving of food. Naru and Lin were both surprised when their dishes lacked the traditional broiled fish that was found on everyone else's trays, and Mai smiled slyly when they both turned to look at her in question. She had informed Himiko-san that morning of their preference to avoid eating living things during an investigation, and Himiko-san was more than happy to compensate them with a serving of rolled omelets.

After their return to base the night before, Naru reported to the others about the apparition and both Bou-san and Ayako expressed concern regarding his theory that the spirit responsible for the destruction in the house controlled other spirits. To be on the safe side, Naru had set out watches for the base in pairs – an exorcist and a person without clerical powers.

When Mai woke up that morning after her dream, she was horrified and embarrassed. She knew better than to put the blame on herself, but as usual it was disconcerting that the people in her visions into the past were usually her and Naru.

No, it was her and Gene, wasn't it? It was only her wishful thinking that it was Naru. Hadn't Gene told her when she asked him? He dressed like Naru and never corrected her because it was who she wanted him to be. If he pretended to be Naru, he knew she was more receptive of the visions and ideas he showed her.

It was probably the only personal conversation they had ever had, since Mai hadn't seen Gene again after the first case since reuniting with Naru. There was no need. Their other two cases were hardly paranormal and he had had no reason to appear. Maybe he had even finally moved on.

Naru didn't ask whether she had had any dreams in the morning. In the past he did, but after discovering that it was Gene Mai was seeing in her dreams he had never broached the subject unless Mai spoke of it first. If he had to, which was only once, he used general terms, and he never asked about his brother save for the one time after his return to Japan. Well, it wasn't as though her dream was significant. It was silly, really, nothing to help the case. It was embarrassing enough even without talking about it aloud.

After breakfast they had all returned to base and sat around the small table where Yasuhara had arranged his notes on the history of the house. They thought that it might be best if Himiko-san wasn't present during the discussion since she still looked edgy, and Ayako had warned both her and her father against stressing her further, and so Mai carried everyone's drinks to the base. Mai had made everyone some tea (Bou-san received his precious iced coffee) and once she finished distributing it she sat back and listened to Yasuhara tell about his findings.

"The house was built in Edo 247, or 1850, soon after the lifting of the commodity price controls during the Tenpou reforms. The family who built it, the Asagiri family, had distant connections to the imperial family and bore the title of princes and princesses. They lived in the house for fifteen years, until a tragedy in the family brought it apart.

"Apparently, the eldest daughter, Asagiri Sanae, was engaged to be married to the governor's son and she loved him very much. But without her knowing it, the governor's son was having an affair with her younger sister Asagiri Saeko. Asagiri Sanae fell off the cliff outside after discovering that her sister was pregnant with her fiancé's child, but it's unclear from the folklore whether she was murdered or committed suicide," Yasuhara pushed his glasses up his nose and rearranged some of his notes on the table.

Mai could barely suppress her gasp. So it was Asagiri Sanae she was dreaming of. And even though she knew nothing about her, she remembered her feelings. The bubbling happiness, the feeling of being full to the brim with love, so much so that it ached inside her. To learn that she was betrayed by her beloved must have been horrible…

Mai looked down, her eyes stinging. Nobody looked at her, luckily, and it was fine. She didn't feel like sharing the princess' feelings after knowing what was to become of her love.

"After that, the governor's son took the sister away and the family sold the house to the Tennouji family. The Tennouji family lived in the house for twenty two years, but shortly after their eldest son's marriage his new wife was found dead in the valley below the house. They left after that, and the house was sold to the Morimoto family.

"The Morimoto family lived in the house for twelve years, but they were old and both died in the same year of natural causes. They left the house to their son, who was studying in Europe, and he moved into it with his wife and child of three. His wife was found dead at the bottom of the valley shortly after moving in, and the son sold the house to the Itsuki family.

"The Itsuki family had twin daughters, and lived in the house for nine years. When the daughters were seventeen they were both found dead in the valley, and the family left the house empty for thirty more years.

"After thirty years the Itsuki family moved to Australia and the house was sold to the Aoyama family, who moved out when their twenty-year-old daughter was found dead in the valley.

"After that the house was sold to a business man named Yabuuchi, which according to the register remained unmarried and lived alone in the house for twenty seven years until he managed to crash his car into a tree while driving home in the dark. The house was given, according to his will, to his young cousin named Shido and… well…"

Yasuhara stopped and looked at the team seated around the table. "This is where it gets disturbing. Shido-kun was a young and successful factory manager, and after inheriting the house he had sent the best designers to refurnish and restore it. After the renovations were done, he threw a house warming party for all seven department heads of his factory and their wives, but the first night at the house they heard screams coming from outside. The women, his wife and the wives of his department heads, disappeared and were all found dead the morning after, having jumped or been pushed off the cliff," he stopped, and Mai gasped.

"All eight of them!?" she asked, horrified.

Yasuhara looked grim. "Yes," he answered, subdued. "That was when the house first became known as haunted. There have actually been twenty-two deaths so far, and not sixteen like the newspaper had claimed. They started counting since that incident," he explained.

"Who were the remaining nine?" Naru asked.

"Well," Yasuhara shuffled through his papers and pulled out some hand written notes. "Shido-kun sold the house to an enterpriser names Ozumi, who was a widower and came to live there with his two sons and daughter. They moved out after four years when his sixteen-year-old daughter was found dead.

"Ozumi-kun had the house in his possession, even though he didn't live in it, for four more years, until he was declared bankrupt during the financial crisis of 1973 and the bank sold the house to Hasukawa Shunichi-kun, who was single. He, too, sold the house after eight years when a woman he had met through a matchmaking service was found dead.

"After that the Koizumi family moved to live there but they had no children and were quite old. The husband died after thirteen years and the wife after fifteen, both from natural causes. The house was inherited by the woman's grandchild, who moved in with her husband and was found dead shortly after.

"The husband, Abe-kun, sold the house and during the last seven years the house had had no less than eighteen different owners. When the Toyama family bought the house and opened their business, five women who came to consult with them regarding their wedding were all found dead. And the last one to die was Toyama-san," Yasuhara concluded(5), and Mai shivered.

So many people dead, she and Naru were indeed lucky not to have run into the main spirit that was hunting the house.

Naru looked deep in thought, but Ayako huffed exasperatedly. "It's Asagiri Sanae, of course," she said. "The incidents started right after her death. And besides, it's logical," she said, shrugging when both Bou-san and John turned to look at her.

"What is?" John asked, confused.

"She was holding a grudge against her sister for stealing her husband-to-be, right? A grudge is a very strong motive for not moving on," Ayako said, aloof.

"I agree with Matsuzaki-san," Naru said, but he was looking at Mai when he spoke. "The culprit does appear to be Asagiri Sanae, and she seems to be targeting young females," he added. Mai felt her unease fire up once again at his look. She noticed the disconcerting pattern too.

Yasuhara nodded. "Yes, I've noticed it as well," he said. "Other than a few sketchy incidents, most deaths involved young females."

"Might it be best if we sent Himiko-san away?" John wondered aloud.

"Yes. Mai, ask Toyama-san if they have any relatives that they could stay with until this case is solved," Naru instructed, and Mai nodded once. She would do it once the meeting was over.

Bou-san leaned across the table and leered at Ayako. "At least you're not in danger," he said, almost gloating. "Seeing as you don't fit the category of young fem-"

Mai could almost see the veins throbbing in Ayako's forehead before she grabbed him and made a valiant attempt to kill him excruciatingly. "You stupid monk! Just who are you calling old!?"

"I also want you to perform an exorcism tonight, Bou-san," Naru said calmly over the sound of their monk being strangled to death, and Mai found it quite amusing when Bou-san managed to raise his thumb as a sign of approval while still being throttled by Ayako.

"Are we going to try and exorcise what could be twenty-two spirits in one try?" John sounded concerned. Of course he was, Mai thought. That many spirits could be dangerous, couldn't it?

Naru looked at the monitors briefly, where Himiko-san and Toyama-san were seen organizing the kitchen. "The one who draws them here is Asagiri Sanae. Most likely she resents what happened and so she is compelled to collect companions. She is probably the one keeping the others from moving on, and once we've dealt with her the others will go away," Naru explained, and Mai smiled, a small and private smile.

At the beginning of their acquaintance Mai often wondered who Naru really was. He seemed cold and uncaring to the untrained eye, but he showed surprising insights into the lives and feelings of the people around him and of the dead.

Masako had been sure that he was about to perform Jorei(6) in the Morishita case, and yet he had actually returned Tachibana Tomiko to her mother. And he had trusted Mai's gut feeling in the Yuasa case a lot more than he should have, simply because he knew it would upset her if he suspected Kasai-san.

He had apologized for hurting Mai when he didn't tell her about his plan to rid Ryokurryou School of the Kodoku. He had brought Mai tea after her nightmare in the Miyama case. They were both in pajamas and the tea was horrible – too strong and too sweet – but he still went through all that trouble simply because she was upset.

Naru was actually kind, and knew a lot about people's emotions, maybe because he was gifted with psychometry and maybe because that was who he was. Even Madoka said that Naru was not a cold person, and that he worried about his friends. He was simply hiding it behind an indifferent front. Which made Mai wonder how he could be so dense when it came to her feelings for him.

"If you have the time once you're finished daydreaming, Mai, go help Himiko-san pack her bags while I talk to Toyama-san. As for the rest of you, there are a lot of preparations to do," Naru's sarcastic words interrupted Mai's musings, and she let out a sigh.

And then, sometimes, he was simply a bastard.

~*~*~*~*~

_Day 2, late afternoon. _

Mai sat on Himiko-san's bed and folded fresh clothes from the laundry basket for Himiko-san to put in her suitcase. To say that Himiko-san was relieved to be leaving was an understatement, and to Mai's inquiry she answered that the reason she hadn't left before was because her father refused to do so as well and she wouldn't leave him alone.

"He's a very stubborn man," Himiko-san said, folding a shirt. She was dressed in western clothes now, a plain long skirt and an elegant button-up shirt. Around her neck was a necklace of pearls and on her ears were diamond-studded earrings. Mai got the impression that she came from a very wealthy family and that the only reason the house was so bare and empty was because they had no time to furnish it properly.

"Then you must be relieved that now there are professionals telling him to stay away," Mai replied cheerfully. Still, what kind of a man would risk his own daughter by staying in the house where his wife was killed by a ghost? She didn't ask, of course, because it would be extremely rude and if there was anything about her hostess she knew, it was that she was gentle and polite.

Himiko-san smiled, coming to sit next to Mai and patting the folded shirt in her lap gently. "Yes, I am. He's not afraid of the ghosts. Quite the contrary. Ever since my mother died he's taken to strolling out in the garden after dark. I…" Himiko-san paused and looked around her room.

It was a lovely room, painted white with paintings of rural Japan and peaceful scenery hanging on the walls. There was a cupboard, a space for storing futons (which was not put to use since Himiko-san used a western bed) and a desk next to the window overlooking the parking lot and the mountains, and in the corner stood a love seat. On the wall in front of the bed was an oval mirror and under it was a small table with cosmetics and other accessories girls often have. It was a tasteful room, and Mai wondered if the late Toyama-san decorated it.

"I think that my father is secretly hoping to meet my mother one last time," Himiko-san finished the sentence and shuddered, closing her eyes tightly and biting her lip. "I am the one who's afraid," she confessed in a whisper.

Mai looked at her with dismay. "But isn't it natural to be afraid? I've been hunting ghosts for three years and I'm still scared," she smiled reassuringly at Himiko-san.

Himiko-san merely shook her head, still troubled. "You don't understand, Taniyama-san. My father wants to meet his late wife, but I don't want to meet my mother. My _real_ mother," she explained, which didn't make things clear at all.

"Huh?" Hadn't Toyama-san explain that his daughter was very attached to her mother? And wasn't it a strange way of putting things, using two distinctive titles for the same person?

"The person I called mother, Rie-san, was not the woman who gave birth to me. My real mother died when I was six years old and I have very few memories of her. My father has a company that manufactures medical equipment and Rie-san was his secretary. After my mother died Rie-san took me under her care. She was like a mother to me for many years. I knew that somewhere along the line my father fell in love with her, but they both waited until I was old enough to give them my blessing before getting married ten months ago. He bought this house for her as a wedding present. I was overjoyed when my father married the person most important to me, and I was happy to call her mother. And now…" Himiko-san's face crumbled.

"Now I'm afraid that my real mother will come. That she will hate me for having forgotten her!" Himiko-san cried, biting her lip in an effort not to sob, and Mai took her hand, smiling.

"She wouldn't do that," Mai said, her voice warm. Her mother used to say that a parent always wanted their child to be happy. Mai knew that her parents didn't hold a grudge over her finding a sort of surrogate family in the members of SPR. "Your mother would be relieved that both you and your father found someone to look after you," she explained, speaking with confidence.

"Do you really think so?" Himiko-san asked in a low, ragged voice.

"Of course!" Mai deadpanned, and was so adamant that instead of crying, Himiko-san started to laugh. Relieved, Mai joined her, and they both laughed until the tension wore off.

Mai returned to base after seeing Himiko-san and Toyama-san off, both equipped with protection charms from Ayako. She had already detoured to the kitchen to bring a new pot of freshly brewed tea, and enjoyed Naru's surprise when the scent of black tea with milk and lemon wafted into the room before her.

Naru accepted the tea from her without saying thanks as usual, but these days Mai was more forgiving of his lacking manners. She merely smiled back at him with honest joy as if he did thank her. Lin had told her that Naru refused to drink tea while home in England, and Mai hadn't stopped teasing him about it until she realized that it was actually a pretty major compliment.

Still, it was funny that it had started by accident. On her first day at the SPR office Mai fixed herself a cup of tea and thought that it was only polite to fix one for her new boss as well. Naru took one sip, his eyes widened and immediately requested a refill. Since then he had said the words 'Mai, tea' so many times that Mai was beginning to fear that he only did it because it was easy on the tongue. She should ask Bou-san about it, maybe, if he promised not to tease her endlessly before answering.

"We're about to start," Naru said once she had given Yasuhara, John, Ayako and Lin their tea as well, pointing at the screen showing the north wing where Bou-san was already seated in his black ritual robes. Naru had chosen the north wing as a place to start because that was where they had witnessed an apparition already.

Bou-san took a deep, cleansing breath and put his hands together, interlacing his fingers in the Achalatha Seal. He started to chant the Fudou Myou-Ou in a deep, purposeful voice.

"Naumaku Sanmanda Bazaradan. Senda Makaroshada Sowataya Un Tarata, Kan Man. Naumaku Sanmanda Bodanan On Boron. On Sunba Nisunba Unbazara Un Hatta…"

Mai turned to Naru, watching the play of colors from the monitors on his pale face. "Do you think that Bou-san will manage to make her go away?" she asked.

Naru closed his eyes for a second, an expression she was familiar with as he did it whenever he was deep in thought. "I hope so. She has had many decades to develop her grudge and power, but for now I want to see how she will react to an exorcism," Naru answered.

"How she will react? What does that mean?" Mai asked, confused.

"Without Hara-san here with us, I cannot say just how strong Asagiri Sanae has become. It is most likely that she has gained power with every person she has killed, but as to her current level of power I won't know until we try to remove her from this house. The stronger she is, the harder she will resist Bou-san's exorcism. And before continuing further I need to know what we're facing," Naru explained, watching Bou-san on the monitor intently.

"On Kirikiri Bazara Bajiri-"

**"KYAAAAAAAAA!"**

The monitors turned black as the power in the base failed and Bou-san's chant over the speaker was cut off. In the complete darkness that surrounded the room Mai felt her hairs raise and her blood run cold.

The screams were endless, so many of them and all at once, and Mai gasped for breath.

"Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him was not anything made that hath been made," John began to pray, and Mai felt the faint sprinkle of wetness and knew that he was pouring the holy water as he prayed.

And yet, the voices kept screaming, and Mai backed away until she came to stand next to Yasuhara and Lin. "Lin-san, they're falling!" Mai cried, turning to the Onmyouji for help but with what, she didn't know. She knew that he couldn't help, he was a sorcerer and not a medium, but she wanted it to _stop_.

"What a terrible sound!" Ayako shouted in the dark, distressed. "Where is it coming from!?"

"It seems as though it's coming from everywhere!" Yasuhara's voice yelled in answer, alarmed.

"…There came a man sent from God, whose name was John…"

Even as John continued to pray, rapping sounds rose up from the walls, like fists being knocked powerfully into the wood, and Mai gasped. The floor was shaking under her feet and the teacups on the table were clattering in their saucers. But the screaming… the screaming continued.

It was horrible.

She didn't know how she knew it, but she did. It was the last thing that came out of the mouths of all the women trapped in the house.

"They're falling to their deaths! _Naru! _" Mai cried urgently, moving towards Naru in the darkness.

"Stop, Mai! Everyone, stay where you are!" Naru's sharp voice rose over the screams, but it was too late.

Mai felt her stomach turn, in what she was beginning to recognize as a warning from her latent sensitivity. They were in danger but before Mai could even shout out a warning, something hit her side almost like a car would and she was thrown across the room, while simultaneously her left cheek was set afire with pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> (1) 'Naru, come on! Breathe!' - That scene was depicted in the manga and not the anime.
> 
> (2) Sword Seal - I think that in the anime and manga it was called a Fist Position (?). At any rate, the position Bou-san taught Mai to use first was the Seal of Acalanatha, and the second, more powerful one, was the Sword seal.
> 
> (3) This is not what a Japanese love letter from the Edo period was like. Basically they were rhymed, intense and short, but this format works better for the story.
> 
> (4) When sitting at a traditional Japanese table you sit with your legs folded under you. Unless you receive permission, it is rude to sit cross legged, and many young people have a problem with sitting with their legs folded without them going numb.
> 
> (5) A quick note on the timeline. In the manga (unfortunately the translation of the novel I have in my possession is highly inaccurate about this and I had to rely on the manga) Yasuhara states that he is 243 years old during the Miyama (Urado) case, and that he was born in Houreki 8, or 1758. Hence, the Urado arc takes place in 2001 and my story brings us to 2003.
> 
> (6) Jorei is the killing of the spirits. Jourei is talking them through their problems from their past lives to help them move on. The phonetic differences were not clear in the anime.


	4. Chapter 4

_Day 2, night. _

"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. _In Principio! _"

Just as John finished his prayer the lights flickered back on.

Three people gasped in pain, one of them being Mai and another very close to her.

Mai winced in pain, her hand rising to her left cheek and coming back wet with blood. She stared at her hand, frightened, before looking wildly around her. John was running towards Ayako, who was lying on the floor with a bloody cheek as well, shivering with shock. Lin and Yasuhara were running toward her and…

"Naru!" Lin called worriedly, and Mai turned to her other side to see that she had been knocked straight into Naru and was now pinning him to the floor. Naru's hand was around her waist, protecting her from colliding with the wall like Ayako and he had.

"EHHH!" Mai screamed, embarrassed, and Naru winced. He coughed a few times, having had the wind knocked out of him, and straightened up a bit, his long and agile body moving under Mai's. Mai could feel herself blush, her momentary panic forgotten.

"Don't scream, Mai. And please get off me, you're quite heavy," Naru admonished sullenly, and just like that Mai's blush disappeared. He really was a bastard. Who was heavy!? She weighted 40 kg – he lifted equipment far heavier than her! Besides, whose fault was it that she was on top of him anyway? Until he opened his mouth his hand was still keeping her against him!

"Taniyama-san! Boss!" Yasuhara hurried towards them and helped Mai back to her feet. "Are you alright?"

Mai grimaced when Naru coughed again as he was helped by Lin to his feet as well. "I think we've both been better. And my cheek hurt," she added when her grimace caused her clotting wound to reopen.

"Naru, let me take care of that," Lin said, already pulling the first aid kit from under the table, but Naru shook his head.

"No. You and John go check on Bou-san. If we were attacked the responsible thing to do would be to assume that he was too," Naru said, pushing Lin's aiding hands away. Now that Mai looked, she saw that Lin was not injured, nor was John or Yasuhara. In fact, the only people who were injured or knocked against the wall were Ayako, Naru and Mai.

Mai looked down at the floor, trying to bite back the pain, when she noticed something next to her leg. Bending down, she picked up the thin, braided leather lace and stared at it with disbelief and regret. "Ah, it's torn," she said morosely, showing Naru the small bracelet Lin had given Yasuhara and her upon their return to Japan. Beyond protection, it had sentimental value.

"Torn?" Yasuhara approached her with the first aid kit and looked at her hand with surprise. "This is an atrocious spirit, to not only reveal itself on the first day but to also have the power to tear the bracelet and attack all of us. That protection charm was supposedly quite strong," he said, concerned.

Mai would have gotten even more scared than she already was at hearing this if something wet had not come in contact with her cheek and a burning sensation caused her to hiss. Yasuhara smiled apologetically as he dabbed her cheek with hydrogen peroxide on a large cotton pouf, and Mai breathed out slowly in an effort not to groan in pain. Next to her she could see Ayako treating herself the same way while Naru was resting in a chair.

Just when the little droplets of foam started sliding down her cheek the door was opened and John and Lin dragged Bou-san in. He, too, had a bloody left cheek, and he looked to be in a foul mood.

"Takigawa-san, are you alright?" Yasuhara called, rushing to the injured monk's side with the first aid kit, eyes widening at the sight of his injury.

Bou-san frowned and then winced when the movement sent a sharp pain through his cheek. "Like hell I am, shounen. That thing wanted to do more to me than scratch my cheek, I tell you that," he said, annoyed, and tiredly collapsed into a chair Lin had brought for him. "Are you guys alright? Mai?" he asked, taking a look around.

Mai nodded, looking at Naru. "We're fine. We were just knocked into the walls," she said, watching Ayako dabbing some more hydrogen peroxide onto a clean cotton pouf to treat Naru.

Naru held up a hand and gestured at Bou-san. "Matsuzaki-san, go treat Bou-san, he seems to be bleeding more than I am and I would prefer that you would treat him over Yasuhara-san. Mai can finish here," he said, taking the pouf from Ayako and holding it up for Mai to take.

"You're right, but after I finish treating him I want to have a look at your back. Having the spirit throw you against the wall and then throw Mai at you is serious," Ayako said sternly, and huffed lightly when Naru didn't answer, before approaching Bou-san.

Mai got up and took the cotton pouf from Naru's outstretched hand. She came to stand next to his face and moved some of his black hair back, hooking it behind his ear. He needed a haircut, she noticed. He would probably do it once they finished here, but in the meantime she could enjoy the silky texture under her fingertips. His hair wasn't completely straight, a testimony to his mixed heritage.

The cut on Naru's cheek was deep, running across his cleanly shaved skin. "This is going to hurt," Mai warned, pressing the pouf to Naru's cheek. In response, Naru hissed and jerked his head back, but Mai placed her hand on his other cheek to keep him in place. "Come on, don't be such a baby!" she complained, making to apply the pouf again. If he could tease her when she was injured, and he did it quite often as she was injured quite often, then she could do the same to him.

Naru grabbed her wrist before she could touch his cheek again. "Gently, Mai," he asked, voice low and gruff from the pain, and Mai sighed, defeated. With his gorgeous voice so low and his eyes gazing directly at her, there was no way she could refuse. She dabbed his cheek in small and gentle movements and even though he jerked slightly in her hold, he stayed put until the hydrogen peroxide finished doing its work.

Mai was treating his wound very carefully, butterflies dancing inside her stomach. Even after three years of constantly working together with Naru Mai was excited to be this close to him physically. She knew that he had his faults. He was overconfident, self-centered, a big bully and a narcissist. But he was also gentle, caring, protective, smart as a whip and extremely good-looking. Despite and because all of those, she loved him. And this up close, his eyes were tired but beautiful, dark blue and definitely not Japanese.

His eyes were also no longer gazing back at her wearily, but looking contemplatively at Bou-san and Ayako.

"Naru, what is it?" Mai asked, giving a few final dabs before throwing the bloodied pouf into the waste basket next to them.

"Why?" Naru asked, gesturing at where Bou-san was being an even bigger baby than Naru about being treated. "Why are we the only ones who got attacked?"

Mai looked at the room. "You mean why weren't Lin-san, Yasuhara-san and John attacked as well?" she asked back.

"Yes. They were all in the same room with us, and yet they have no common characteristics whatsoever," Naru elaborated. At Mai's uncomprehending look, he explained. "John is a psychic, Lin is a Taoist and Yasuhara-san is an ordinary human being. Both you and Matsuzaki-san, who are psychics as well, were attached, so why wasn't John?"

"Maybe because he was praying?" Mai suggested, looking at the priest in question putting the broken china of the teacups into a dustpan while Yasuhara was mopping the spilt tea.

"But so was Bou-san, and yet he was attacked," Naru countered Mai's theory. "Also, why was I attacked but not Yasuhara-san? It doesn't add up. Something's eluding me and I need to know what that is."

"Maybe because all four of us make two nice couples," Mai suggested jokingly, and then gasped with horror as her brain processed what she was saying. So far she had avoided talking about her and Naru in any romantic sense next to him, at least ever since her unfortunate confession. Naru was clearly not interested, and Mai had foolishly let her tongue run away with her. "Naru…"

"Oi, Naru-bou," Bou-san called, interrupting whatever it was that Mai was about to say and the awkwardness that was starting to get the better of her. She was relieved when Naru turned to look at Bou-san and she could get away from him. "We've been going about this completely wrong," he complained, but his eyes were sharp when he looked at their boss.

"Yes. They are on the outside, rather than inside. And it's the outside we should focus on," Naru confirmed calmly, his voice back to stoic and normal.

"You want us to perform an exorcism outside!? That's insanity!" Bou-san pushed Ayako's hand away so that he could stand up, glaring at Naru. "Do you even know how many spirits are wandering outside? There's no way we could do it!" he objected vehemently.

"Is it so hard?" Mai asked with genuine curiosity, now over her embarrassment at her untimely words.

Bou-san smiled a painful smile, bending down to look at her. "It's like looking for a person in Shibuya Crossing(1) that the only thing you know about them is that they're Japanese. You can either stop each and every person or you can try stopping all of them at once and search, either way it's going to be difficult," he explained, and Mai gaped.

"That's not difficult, that's impossible!" she called, looking at Naru.

"Yet that is what we must do. Unless… Matsuzaki-san, can we rely on your special power?" Naru asked, turning to Ayako who was returning the medical equipment to the first aid kit. "Surely there are plenty of live trees around?" he added a bit mockingly.

Ayako stopped and looked contemplatively out of the window and into the darkness of the night, not responding to the tone of Naru's question. "We could try. But I'm not happy about it. Even though the trees here are very much alive, they are angry and vengeful. I know how to wake the trees' spirits but they usually return back to their trees of their own volition. I don't know what these spirits will do, and I'm not sure I could get them to go back if things go wrong," Ayako explained, her gaze flickering between Naru and the garden overlooked by the base's window.

"Nevertheless, we will try tomorrow once Hara-san arrives here," Naru ruled. "In the mean time, please prepare protection charms for the base and our sleeping quarters."

Ayako shrugged. "Fine. But I'm not taking responsibility," she clarified. "And now I want to see your back. We can do it either here or in your room, but rest assured that I will see it," she said no less strictly than Naru.

Naru looked disgruntled as he got up and followed her out of the base.

~*~*~*~*~

_Mai was once again seated in front of the window, but this time it was raining. The spring rain was amazing, especially up in the mountains. She usually liked sun, but rain was good, snow was good, and as a matter of fact she couldn't care less even if a Tengu(2) descended onto her windowsill. _

_Mai was simply happy. Why wouldn't she be? She was getting married in four days to the person she loved most in the world._

_The maid had already lit the oven in her room and hot waves were washing her back as she pulled a new leaf of paper to her and started to write again. It was the only outlet for her emotions, and she needed to do it just as much as she wanted to._

_'In a world so immersed in its own troubles, I find it hard to believe I have found such a love as ours. You are perfect for me, and I wouldn't change even a single gesture of yours. Your eyes, your tone of voice, even your silence, I find myself treasuring them more than I would have treasured the imperial treasures themselves. _

_'I can only wish for Saeko to find someone so perfectly made for her as I have found in you. She is my only sister and my beloved friend. She deserves this too, she was not as fortunate in her life as I was. But with someone to complete her like you complete me, I hope she will find peace for her tormented soul.' _

This time, Mai woke up with tears streaming down her cheeks.

~*~*~*~*~

_Day 3, morning. _

Breakfast was a subdued affair for Mai. She had prepared everyone their drinks of green tea, and coffee for Bou-san, but sat quietly while the rest of the team talked. It had been a quiet night in the house, and the cameras hadn't picked up anything out of the ordinary. Mai knew that Lin and Naru were both frustrated over the loss of data from yesterday's attack, since they were unable to verify their speculation that the source of the haunting was outside in the garden.

Mai's dream was unsettling. She was sad for Asagiri Sanae. She could feel how much she had loved her husband-to-be and her sister, and couldn't even begin to imagine how much it must have hurt for her to discover the two people she had trusted the most in the world had betrayed her.

On the other hand, Mai was also feeling depressed because of her own feelings. Why must it be Naru she was dreaming of? Why must it be her reliving the memory instead of observing from the outside like most of the times she was in the dream trance? It hurt because Naru didn't think it was him that she loved while in her dreams, Mai had confessed to him and won his heart.

"What's wrong, Mai?" Bou-san asked, noticing her unusual silence.

"Nothing," Mai hastened to assure him, but it was too late. The attention of all the people around the table was focused on her. "Um… Bou-san? Could you please help me with my homework? I'm taking a Buddhism course and we have to write an essay on Karma as the law of cause and effect and I really don't know where to start…" Mai trailed off, hoping to create an impression that it was her homework she was worried about. Really, her dreams during this mission were stupid and unhelpful, nothing worth mentioning.

"Karma as the law of cause and effect? Man, I hadn't heard that one in a very long time," Bou-san looked at the ceiling, resigned. "Sure, Mai. We'll have a look at your textbooks and figure something out together, okay?" he asked, smiling encouragingly.

"Sure, thank you!" Mai gave him a bright smile, happy that at least one good thing would come out of it.

"How's your cheek, Mai?" Ayako asked. She had reapplied disinfectant on each of the wounded people in their party before breakfast, and assured them that tomorrow the scabs would start to itch and in a week's time be completely gone.

"Throbbing a bit, but its fine," Mai replied. She was used to get hurt on missions. It was her lot in life. Everyone was already used to it, that in some way or another, Mai would bleed on a case. Ayako had even jokingly suggested that Naru insure her like he did with his cameras, but Mai had heard her have a serious talk with him a few weeks ago about her having made them all insured through her family's hospital. It was great because neither Naru and Lin nor she were insured and hospital fees were expensive.

"Man, what am I? A dog? I don't get to be asked about my hurting cheek?" Bou-san complained from Ayako's side, and she threw him a sweet smile.

"You're a man, aren't you? Suck it up!" she answered, typically brash, and the two began arguing. Really, ever since the Yoshimi case they hadn't given it a break and Mai sighed, resigned.

"Anyway," John laughed nervously at the sight of their team members arguing. "I wonder why only the four of you were attacked. That was a definite mark: all of you have identical gashes on your left cheeks. Maybe it had some meaning?" he asked over the ruckus.

Naru remained silent and contemplative, like he had been since walking into the room.

"Mai-san, have you had any dreams since we came here?" John asked, turning from the unresponsive Naru to look at her with kind, curious eyes.

Mai grimaced. That was exactly what she didn't want to be asked. "Nothing really important," she answered in a small voice.

"But you did have dreams, did you?" Naru asked her, voice hard. "I expected you to report anything related to the case of your own volition. Does this mean that I can't trust you?" he asked bluntly and Mai winced, shaking her head.

The issue of her dreams was never easy, for either of them. Prior to discovering Naru's true identity Mai had kept the dreams a secret from the others because in them she had a part of Naru (or so she thought) all to herself. After confessing her feelings to Naru and being told that she would see his brother again whether she wanted to or not, he became impatient whenever they had to talk about her dreams. It was almost as if he didn't want her to have them, and if she did, he wanted her to talk about them only to get it out of the way.

"What were they about, Taniyama-san?" Yasuhara asked when no further comment seemed to come from Naru's end and Mai remained silent.

Mai took a deep breath and focused on Yasuhara, seated beside Lin. "Asagiri Sanae, but they were nothing too important. Only that… well…" Mai trailed off, feeling almost like she was betraying Asagiri Sanae's trust. "She loved him very much. Her fiancé," she said at last.

"Huh?" both Ayako and Bou-san, who had stopped fighting in order to listen to her dreams, asked in union.

"She would sit in the northern bedroom and write him letters, telling him how happy she was and how in love with him she was," Mai said in near whisper. Naru still hadn't said a word and Mai still hadn't looked at him. She hadn't mentioned one important issue, and she knew he wouldn't ask. He never did, after discovering who it really was she was dreaming of.

"So this is why the desk keeps moving to stand under the window in the northern bedroom?" Yasuhara asked thoughtfully.

"Probably," Bou-san confirmed, also deep in thought after hearing Mai's words.

"Did you meet Gene in the dream again?" Lin was the one who was asking, and Mai shook her head.

"These are visions into the past. He's never in those," she replied, focusing on Lin instead of glancing at Naru. She would never tell them that even in the visions, the people who played the parts were her and Gene, or that she still wanted it to be Naru.

Mai didn't know when she would see Gene again. He himself had said that he had no idea why he didn't move on once his body was found, and even if he was still wandering the astral realm, he was not always awake and coherent to guide her.

When Mai couldn't bear it anymore and did sneak a peak at Naru, she could see him staring straight ahead with a vacant, empty and far-away look in his eyes. His face was a stony mask and he had shown no reaction to the mention of his brother's name. It was the no reaction that was a reaction, Mai knew, and her heart sank. She knew that Naru must miss his brother, but there were times when her intuition told her that he was resenting him as well. She couldn't understand why he would feel that way. Maybe because Gene had left Naru without anyone to channel his tremendous power? Or maybe because it was like having a part of you being ripped away and living half the life you once did, or so Mai had read.

A loud banging on the door caused them all to jump, and for a moment Mai thought that it was rapping sounds and that the ghosts were back, and a thrill of fear ran down her back. But when she saw Yasuhara getting up and walking towards the entrance and the front door, she returned to her senses and hurried after him to see what the commotion was all about.

Yasuhara opened the front door and in stepped Masako's driver and bodyguard, carrying an unconscious Masako in his arms.

"Hara-san!"

"Masako!"

Both Yasuhara and Mai made way for Masako's driver, a trusted servant of her father who worshipped the ground Masako walked on, so that he would be able to get her into the house. Mai quickly directed the strong, burly man into the base where he could put Masako, who looked like a doll against his large frame, down on the sofa.

"What happened, Okano-kun?" Mai asked, alarmed, moving a file folder in the air above Masako's head to create better circulation. Yasuhara hurried to the dinning room, probably to get the others.

The driver looked pale and panicked, hovering protectively next to the couch and clearly not sure what to do with himself. "The moment we arrived here and stepped out of the car Hara-sama gasped and fainted, Taniyama-sama. She hadn't even said a word!" he said, distressed.

"Move out of the way," Ayako's voice commanded, and within seconds she had crossed the distance from the door to the couch and was next to Masako, taking her vitals. After carefully listening to her heart and lungs, and lifting an eyelid experimentally, Ayako nodded in reassurance. "She'll be alright. I just need to wake her up," Ayako determined, and put a hand to Masako's cheek, patting it. Mai ran to the dinning room and returned hastily with a cup of green tea in her hand.

Masako moved her head groggily, opening big, dark eyes and squinting about her. Her hair, always immaculate, was now in disarray around her face and her purple jasmine kimono, a magnificent work of art like the rest of her clothes, was arranged in untidy folds.

"Masako?" Mai asked hopefully, cradling the cup of tea in her hands. Even Naru had moved forward and was standing behind the sofa, looking down at the lying medium. "Are you alright?"

"Mai?" Masako asked, confused, and Mai smiled, handing her the tea while Ayako supported her hand as she drank.

"Yes. You're in the Toyama family house, and you've fainted. Are you feeling better?" Mai replied.

Masako shook her head, her face paler than normal. "It's awful. She is..." Masako's eyes were filled with tears. "She's horrible!" she cried. "She's trapping those women here, and is feeding on their misery! They just want to be free of her and move on, but she won't let them!" Masako buried her head in her hands and her shoulders shook while she wept.

Mai sat down next to her and circled her shoulders with one arm, not really knowing what to do. She looked up at Naru, waiting for his reaction.

"What else can you feel?" Naru simple asked, typically insensitive, and Mai frowned. How could he be wonderful one moment and a complete jerk in the next?

Masako shook her head again, almost like trying to deny something over and over. "She is hurting. Something awful has happened to her, and it happened here. She's unable to leave. Her hatred is filling this place, has been for a long time. I feel like I'm looking at the scenery through a layer of black mist. Her emotions are so strong and her power is so great, that it encompasses the entire place," Masako explained, voice small and breathy. Mai could still feel her shaking on the couch where they both sat, and felt sorry for her. Maybe Masako was manipulative and a snob, but she was still Mai's friend and she didn't deserve to suffer because of her inborn ability to sense the spirits around her.

"Are you feeling better now?" Ayako asked, uncharacteristically kind towards the medium. It was no secret that the two didn't get along.

Masako nodded. "The sensations are dimmed now," she said.

"Well, must be thanks to the protection charms I wrote. Maybe I'm not so useless after all," Ayako couldn't resist baiting.

"Oh, they do say that everyone must be good at at least one thing," Masako replied, her sleeved hand covering her mouth, and Mai smiled while Ayako glared at the medium, enraged. Masako was definitely feeling better.

"Did you manage to sense where the center of the spiritual activity was, Hara-san?" Naru asked, taking a data pad and scribbling something onto it. From experience, Mai knew that it would be in English, and even if her English level had improved since she started working with Naru she knew that there was no way she would be able to read his scrawl of connected letters.

"No, it was hard since there are so many spirits around the mountain. Naru… what happened to you?" Masako asked, concerned. She turned to look at Mai and Ayako, finally registering their injuries, and frowned slightly. "Mai and Matsuzaki-san as well?"

"We were attacked by the spirit, Asagiri Sanae, last night," Naru explained shortly, while in the background Bou-san was complaining about the lack of interest in his well being ("Nobody cares about me, John-san!").

Masako cocked her head to the side, sending her concerned driver away with a reassuring nod. "What have you learned so far?" she asked, and Mai and Yasuhara began filling her in.

~*~*~*~*~

_Day 3, early evening. _

"I'm not promising anything," Ayako turned once more to the camera, but the fifth time she had said it Naru hadn't bothered dignifying her with a response. He was absorbed in the data from the morning regarding temperature readings and seismographic activity in the area, though Mai didn't understand why he was dealing with the last one. The case before them was without a question a ghost.

Ayako, who was staring at the garden camera waiting for a reaction, finally huffed irritably. She was sitting in the small rock garden where the trees had created a semi-circle around her. She had already watered the garden trees with the purified sake, and was ready to go through with the ceremony. "Do as you want. I'll start," she snapped, annoyed, and Mai smiled nervously.

"Is it okay to allow Ayako to go through with the ritual? She seems very nervous about it and very annoyed," Mai asked. The last time Ayako had done the ritual she was calm and practically radiating happiness. She loved trees, and at the little grove near the Yoshimi household she almost looked like a true priestess. But she didn't like it here, Mai could sense, and she had warned them about summoning something they would have no idea how to send back.

Which was the most worrisome thing of all, since Ayako wasn't one to belittle her own powers, quite the contrary.

Naru finally looked up from the rows of numbers and the long print of seismic activity. "It's worth a try. If this succeeds, we have rid ourselves of a multitude of unconnected and unwanted spirits that roam the mountain," he answered, then returned to reading his data.

In the background, Ayako was tying a small bell to a young branch like she did in the Yoshimi case, but there was no smile on her face. She had left her Haraegushi in her room. The long stick with paper ribbons was used for purification, but Ayako was calling forth tree spirits and for that all she needed was what she already had with her. Mai was pretty proud to have learned about it in university.

Eventually Mai got bored with watching Ayako. Ayako almost seemed to be stalling, and Mai turned her attention to Naru once again. Why was he constantly looking at those seismographic results? "Ne, Naru-"

"The spirit is strong and violent. It had caused severe damage to the property and I'm concerned about the stability of the house in the long term," Naru answered before Mai could get the rest of the question out, and Mai gaped at him. That was fast, and just how did he know what she wanted to ask?

Naru glanced at her, and the corners of his mouth tugged up in a self-satisfied smirk.

Mai glared at him in indignation, but it was a wasted effort since Ayako had started chanting and Naru turned his attention to the monitor.

"I humbly ask for your aid. Descend upon this unholy place and make it pure. Exorcise the demons as you have so many times before."

It wasn't working. Mai could feel the unease coiling in the pit of her stomach. Something wasn't right. Mai turned to John, a worried expression on her face, but he was also watching the garden camera intently.

"Listen both peacefully and calmly, and speak the Kannon's chant onto our wished place. Our planet is a vast, violent tundra. Gods from all places, gather here."

Mai could see Ayako's back straightening just a little bit more. Her fingers changed position and pointed at the small bell that was tied to the young branch of a Japanese black pine. She was about to start on the Nine Words of Power.

"Rin!"

During the Yoshimi case, the bell rang as Ayako said the word. Now, the entire house shook in its place, and loud knocking sounds surrounded the base. The lamp flickered and died, as well as all of the monitors, and in the darkness the second banging to the house's walls sounded like a great thunder in the sky.

"Takigawa-san!" Yasuhara's anxious voice was barely heard over the sound of the knocking.

"Shounen, stay where you are!" Bou-san's voice commanded, and started chanting soon after. "Naumaku san-"

The knocking sounds stopped, and for a moment the silence was so complete that the blood in Mai's ears was loud and piercing. Then, like a lament gathering strength, all around them crying sounds could be heard.

They were wailing, crying so brokenly, each joining the other like a grotesque choir singing in canon the same song, of misery and loneliness and pain…

"It's awful! They're straying in the dark and they don't know how to get out!" Masako called in the dark, voice tight with sadness, and even Mai felt her own tears starting to chock her. They were suffering, and they were so, so _sad_…

An invisible force hit Mai in the back, not strong, but it was enough. Mai's stomach clenched and she felt the wind rushing past her, her muscles spasming as adrenalin exploded throughout her body.

She was falling down the mountain.

"Kyata Hanjayasa Hadaya Sowaka!"

As soon as Bou-san finished his chant, the lights flickered back on again and Mai found herself on her hands and knees on the floor. She gasped, breathing a painful ordeal in the aftermath of the attack, shaking with fear at the falling sensation which felt so real.

"Mai-san!" John rushed to her, helping her to her feet and keeping his hands on her shoulders for support. Mai was grateful and she leaned on his frame, so similar to hers in height, recovering from her shock and taking stock of the room.

She was surprised to see Bou-san on his knees with his fingers entwined, and Naru on all four staring at the floor, his face pale and his eyes wide to compliment the stunned expression on his face. Lin and Yasuhara stood next to the monitors, which were flickering back to life one by one, and Masako was standing by the door, her eyes wide with shock and tearful and her kimono sleeve covering her mouth.

"That was what they felt like right before they died," Mai whispered shakily into the silence in the room. "That is what it feels like to fall to your death," she said, biting her lip in an effort not to cry. Everyone was looking at her, shocked, and Mai turned her head away in an effort to keep the tears in, focusing on the blearing of the monitors as they came back to life instead.

Her eyes, trained unseeingly on the monitors, suddenly widened and she realized what it was that she was seeing. She pushed away from John, urgently moving forward on unsteady legs. "Naru! It's Ayako! She's falling!"

Through the garden camera, Mai could see Ayako being pulled by an invisible hand towards the edge of the cliff, her face a mask of helplessness, her mouth shaping words they couldn't hear yet and her fingers trying in vein to hold onto various things in order to prevent her impending fall.

"**HELP ME! **" Ayako's scream that was heard through the speaker as the microphone came back online froze Mai's blood, and she reached out towards the monitor uselessly, heart pounding.

Behind Ayako, obscuring the light of the rising moon, was a large black silhouette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> (1) Shibuya Crossing is a scramble crossing in the Shibuya district in Tokyo. It is located in front of the Shibuya Station Hachikou exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. Many thousands of people pass through it every day.
> 
> (2) A Tengu is a monster spirit, and the belief in them was quite popular in the early times of Japan.


	5. Chapter 5

"**HELP!**"

"Ayako!" Bou-san was still yelling when he ran out to the hallway, John and Lin hot on his heels. Yasuhara and Mai made to follow, but Naru's sharp warning made them stop.

"Don't!"

"But Naru! Ayako is-" Mai started to argue, watching with wide eyes at Ayako being dragged kicking and screaming towards the edge of the cliff.

"You would do her little good by putting yourself in danger as well," Naru snapped. He was being logical, Mai knew, but she was still frustrated over not having the ability to help.

"But what about that thing?" Yasuhara asked, looking closely at the monitor and pointing at the large, ominous silhouette floating above the garden gazebo.

Masako approached them, pale and weak-looking. Her kimono sleeve was no longer hiding her mouth, but from the way she looked Mai thought that it was more due to the fact that she wasn't feeling very well than anything else. "That thing is evil. Don't ever go near it, Yasuhara-san. You too, Mai. That thing is-"

"Naumaku San Manda Bazaradan Kan!"

Bou-san's sharp, deep and commanding voice was suddenly heard through the microphone in the garden, and after a second Mai could see him, John and Lin running towards Ayako. While Bou-san stopped and started to chant, John continued rushing after Ayako's retreating form, all the while sprinkling holy water and whispering prayers.

Mai gasped, and the breath was caught in her lungs when for a moment nothing seemed to be happening. Then, like a delayed reaction, Ayako's body stopped moving and the silhouette by the edge of the cliff dissipated, revealing pale moonlight and a silent garden.

Lin, who had the longest legs, was by Ayako's side first, and Mai let out her breath only when she saw him helping Ayako to her feet. She looked shaken and pale, small against Lin's tall body, but she was definitely okay.

"We're going back to base," Lin announced to the camera, and once Bou-san hooked Ayako's other arm over his shoulders for support they started making their way back and were soon out of the camera's range.

Now that the entire ordeal was over, Mai discovered that she was shaking. Shaking so badly that she sank to her knees, afraid and uncomfortable like an animal who knew something bad was about to happen but didn't have the ability to run away.

"Taniyama-san! Are you okay?" Yasuhara and Masako were by her side, but all Mai could do was shake her head.

"Didn't you feel it? What they felt when they were pushed to their deaths?" she whispered, looking at Naru. From the look in his eyes she knew he felt it too. The push to his back and the feeling of the floor dropping out from under him.

"Was that what happened when you, Naru and Takigawa-san all collapsed on the floor?" Masako asked, and Mai felt even more afraid. Why hadn't Masako, the powerful medium, felt it too?

Why were she, Naru, Bou-san and Ayako the only ones who were targeted?

~*~*~*~*~

_Mai sat by the window, the ink drying on the edge of her pen. Tomorrow, she would be dressed in the white uchikake(1), the first of the three wedding kimonos she was about to wear. The uchikake was already hung on a hanger next to her desk, and she reached out and touched the white, heavily brocaded fabric with the magnificent cranes and pine trees embroidered on it, with gentle hands. It was so beautiful, but Naru deserved to have a beautiful bride for their wedding ceremony. _

_Mai dipped her pen in the inkwell once more, above being annoyed at her own forgetfulness that had allowed the ink to go dry. It all went beyond her notice. What difference could it possibly make, when she was about to have her dream come true?_

_'I remember the first time you held me in your arms. You were so shy, I thought you would sit and brood at the floor the entire afternoon. But eventually you did get up, and secured against your strong frame I felt like I would go with you anywhere. My home is where your arms and your embrace are.'_

_She paused, and thought once more of the white uchikake, which signified the woman's willingness to adapt to her husband's household. How fitting would that be. _

Mai woke up in the middle of the night and slowly sat up. She hugged herself tightly against the loneliness and emptiness inside her, and listened to Ayako's and Masako's rhythmic breaths.

She just wanted it to end.

It wasn't fair.

~*~*~*~*~

_Day 4, morning. _

That morning, Mai's somber mood was nothing out of the ordinary. Naru was very quiet and serious, and if he was an ordinary person Mai would have said that he was actually miffed. Masako hadn't spoken much since the attack, and seemed ill whenever she had to leave the base or one of the rooms with the protection charms Ayako had made.

As for Ayako, she was recovering from the shock in the girls' room and was ordered by both Lin and Bou-san to rest for at least one day. She had scratches and chafing burns on her back and her hands were cut and bruised from when she tried to hold onto something to keep from being dragged. Much to her displeasure, her well manicured nailed were completely ruined as well, which was a source of much complaint on her part.

And currently, they were all sitting in the girls' room and having a heated discussion.

"Honestly, if you couldn't do it than you simply had to say so! Look at what you've done to yourself! You're always hoping to run across a Jibakurei(2) and when you finally meet one you can't even deal with it!?" Bou-san was arguing with Ayako again, but Mai recognized his tone of voice. He was being serious, just like he had been when he yelled at Mai for trying to exorcise the spirits in Yasuhara's school alone. He was angry because he was afraid to lose someone he cared about.

"I didn't have time to complete my summoning!" Ayako shouted back, sitting up straighter on her futon, disgruntled and annoyed.

"Are you a priestess or aren't you? Why didn't you try to exorcise the spirits when they attacked in the first place!?" Bou-san asked, folding his arms on his chest and glaring venomously at Ayako, and Mai could see the vein in Ayako's throat throbbing angrily.

"You try summoning the concentration needed to actually exorcise a spirit with my level of power when you're being rapidly dragged towards your death, you stupid monk!" Mai winced. It was a sore spot, since the thing that was hurt the most in Ayako was her pride.

Naru growled something low in his throat next to Mai at the loudness of those two, a small crease appearing between his brows as he focused on the book he had brought with him. Mai hadn't spoken to him that morning, but mostly because of his foul mood rather than her visions into Asagiri Sanae's life. Really, a wedding kimono? She and Naru? Perhaps when the sun starts shining at night. She was determined to ignore any relation her dreams had to reality and resolutely made him Darjeeling tea before breakfast that day.

"Come on, Takigawa-san. I'm sure that it's fine and that-" Yasuhara started, but Bou-san threw a sour look at him.

"No, it isn't, shounen. Besides," Bou-san clearly wasn't listening to Ayako's words from before or he would never have let such priceless confession from Ayako go. "The protection charms you wrote didn't work either, did they? Are you sure you should even be here if you can't even protect yourse-"

"That wasn't Matsuzaki-san's fault," Masako barged into Bou-san's heated speech, causing everyone in the room to look at her. Masako has never defended Ayako before, and even Ayako was surprised at her words.

"What are you saying, Masako-chan?" Bou-san asked in a strange voice, so shocked to hear her defending the 'useless person' as she referred to Ayako that his anger ebbed away.

"Matsuzaki-san's protection charms kept most of the spirits away. Most of them, expect her. It was not Matsuzaki-san's fault that she's not strong enough to take on her level of power," Masako claimed, and Ayako smiled a smile that was more of a twitch, looking at the medium with irritation. Of course Masako couldn't resist slipping an insult into her defense of Ayako, Mai thought as she sat in her place awkwardly.

Mai noted that Masako hadn't once said Asagiri Sanae's name since learning the details of the incident. It was almost like the way people avoid saying the name of a mass murderer, but Mai had her doubts about Asagir Sanae's guilt. She was still feeling the unease coiling in her stomach, but she was getting used to it because it hadn't stopped since the Toyama family's visit to SPR's office. Masako had a clear aversion to the spirit, but Mai couldn't see a person as gentle and as full of love as she had seen in her dreams killing so many.

At Masako's words, Bou-san seemed to have recalled his own anger. "Which only strengthen what I'm saying. What would you do if you ran into that thing again!?" he demanded heatedly.

Ayako seemed like she might bite his head off. "I didn't see your exorcism work either, you profligate of a monk!" she shouted at him, and Mai saw Naru wince at the loudness of their fight. He had been in a foul mood ever since the attack, and Bou-san and Ayako at each other's throats was not helping.

"Come now, you two," Mai started, laughing nervously. "You remind me of that one boy who sat behind me and would always pull on my braids(3) during sixth grade. When we were both in eighth grade he asked me if he could have my first kiss. He told me that he was in love with me ever since we met and that was the reason he kept pulling my braids all the time," Mai told them, and watched with satisfaction as both Bou-san and Ayako grew silent and subdued, childishly refraining from looking at each other.

Mai smiled victoriously. Really, they were like two teenagers who wanted to secure the other's attention without knowing how so they resorted to bickering.

"And did you, Taniyama-san?" Yasuhara, the only person who had seemed to keep some level of cheerfulness and optimism during breakfast, asked Mai.

"Did I what?"

"Gave him your first kiss?" Yasuhara clarified, looking far too interested for his own good. Mai snuck a look at Naru and saw that his eyes continued moving on the page and his position remained unchanged. He seemed not to be listening, but then Naru was known for being able to both read and focus on what people told him at the same time.

Mai smiled at Yasuhara. "Nope. He was so rude during sixth grade, I told him I would never give him a kiss, especially not my first!" she claimed haughtily, causing Yasuhara, John, Bou-san and Ayako to burst out laughing. Even Lin cracked a small smile against the rim of his tea cup and Masako raised her kimono sleeve to cover her mouth. Mai was relieved, she really didn't like it when they all fought.

Mai glanced at Naru, and noticed that his fingers were drumming lightly on the binding of his book ("An Introduction to the Science of the Mysterious"). She had already learned to recognize it as a sign that he was amused, and smiled. So he was listening as well.

~*~*~*~*~

_Day 4, afternoon. _

Mai made her way down the hall towards the base. She had just returned from changing the tapes in three cameras in the west wing of the house. Due to the frequent blackouts and the wild fluctuations in the electric grid some of the cameras weren't working properly, but Naru claimed that it was only the tapes that were the problem. And indeed, when Mai got to the cameras to inspect them, the tapes' magnetic film was tangled in the mechanism of the camera and Mai was forced to spend an hour untangling them all and replacing the used tapes with new ones.

Several meters from her destination, Mai noticed that her shoelace was undone and bent down to tie it, when voices filtered from the base's open door. No one should be in there other than Yasuhara and Lin and Mai frowned, listening carefully.

"There's really no need for you to bother yourself with making the trip to town, Yasuhara-san," Lin's voice said. Mai knew that Lin was supposed to go down to the small town at the foot of the mountain to buy some supplies. As soon as Naru had heard that they were running low on tea he decreed that someone would need to go and get some supplies, which amused Mai to no end. He really was an addict.

"Ah, no, Lin-san. It's quite alright. I don't really mind," Yasuhara's cheerful voice answered back.

There was silence, but Mai could imagine Lin giving Yasuhara a scrutinizing look. She knew she would do the same. Who would want to volunteer for a trip up and down the mountain when the road was so full of sharp twists and turns that were sure to make even the stoic Naru a bit motion sick?

"Why would you come?" there was a strange tone in Lin's voice, like nothing Mai had heard from him before.

"Why Lin-san, didn't you know? Deep down I'm actually a masochist," Yasuhara teased, but his voice was unusually low. Mai smiled warily. It was exactly like Yasuhara to give such an answer.

A strange sound suddenly came from the room. Someone was laughing, but it wasn't Yasuhara. She was familiar with Yasuhara's bright, carefree laughter. It was a sound she had heard only once, and at that time it was directed at her.

"Lin-san, I would never have imagined that you knew how to laugh!" Yasuhara exclaimed, and Mai wasn't sure if he was feigning shock or really feeling it. Yes, that was Lin's laughter, quiet and yet lively and pleasant to the ear.

"There are a lot of things you would never have imagined me capable of doing, _Osamu_," Lin said, his voice pitched low as he drew out Yasuhara's given name syllable by syllable. Mai gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth to keep a sound from escaping. What was going on!?

"Oh? And how do you suggest I fix this mishap?" Yasuhara's voice was deep and intimate, and Mai suddenly had a feeling that she wasn't supposed to hear any of this. Were Yasuhara and Lin interested in each other? As in shounen-ai mangas interested in each other?

"All it takes is a few simple words," Lin's voice was usually low but now that it had gone down an octave it was just on this side of being heard, and Mai felt a shiver go down her spine.

Yasuhara chuckled, but it wasn't his usual carefree laughter. It was quiet and meant for Lin's ears only. "Would you like to go out with me, Lin Koujo?" he asked formally, and from the rustle of clothes Mai knew that someone was walking about the room. She was about to get up and run the other way when Lin's words stopped her.

"I would be delighted to. But I must warn you – I'm not one to take things slowly, _Osamu_," once again, Yasuhara's name fell slowly and sensuously from Lin's lips and Mai's cheeks were set aflame at the intimacy she could hear there.

Another rustle of clothes and suddenly Yasuhara gasped out loud, his voice muffled by something… by Lin's lips, Mai realized. Lin was kissing Yasuhara, and from the content sound that soon followed Mai knew that Yasuhara was enjoying it(4). When the kiss finally ended with a soft wet sound, Mai turned around and fled the other way.

Mai was mortified to have heard Lin and Yasuhara that she was sure her face hosted all of the blood in her body. She was blushing so hard that her scratches were pulsing lightly with the excess blood in her cheeks.

She was so embarrassed that she didn't really notice where she was running until she almost collided into someone, avoiding them only at the last moment. Mai raised her eyes to see Naru looking mildly surprised to see his part time investigator running flushed down the hall.

"Mai?" he asked, looking critically at her face.

"Naru!" Mai cried with relief. "Lin-san and Yasuhara-san, they're…" Mai trailed off, not really knowing what to say or if she should say something at all. What happened was something private between Lin and Yasuhara, and maybe that was how they wanted to keep it.

"Is that so? I had no idea that Yasuhara-san had such tendencies," Naru commented aloofly, and Mai gaped at him openly.

"Y-You knew? You knew that Lin-san was…" once again, Mai trailed off.

Naru didn't even spare her a glance. "Of course I knew, Mai. He is my guardian and I have known him since I was a small boy," he admonished. "Now go make me some tea and calm down in the kitchen until Lin has left," he instructed and Mai nodded dazedly, still reeling from her revelation.

"And Mai? Don't tell anyone. This is not your secret to tell," Naru warned her, his expression severe, and Mai nodded once more before turning to go.

Still, who would've believed? Lin and Yasuhara…

Mai had made the tea Naru had asked for, bringing the water to the perfect temperature before brewing them both an Assam and arranging it on a tray. It wasn't Naru's favorite, but Mai had already learned that Naru would drink almost anything she served as long as she was the one who made it, and did her best to pick out the brands most suitable for the time of day and Naru's mood.

She stayed in the kitchen until she heard the van pulling away from the parking lot, and only then started making her way back to base. In the end, Mai decided, she shouldn't make such a big deal out of it, really. Both Lin and Yasuhara were people she cared a lot about, and if they found happiness with each other than all she could do was be happy for them as well. And when she thought about the situation calmly, she realized that she had nothing to be shocked about. Two guys in her modern history class were also openly together, and she never gave the matter a second thought.

When she arrived at the base, Naru was alone. Of course, Lin and Yasuhara had both gone down to town and it would be evening before they made it back. Ayako was resting in the girls' room and Bou-san and John were seen in the monitors touring the rooms slowly with Masako in an attempt to formulate an efficient exorcism strategy.

Mai put the cup of tea in front of Naru, who hadn't even looked up from the book he was reading. Mai had never seen him consult so many books before, and he also had Yasuhara's notes on the history of the house in front of him on the table.

"Are you still bothered?" Mai asked, settling on a cushion next to him and taking a page in her hand. It was the story about the sixteen-years-old Ozumi girl.

Naru put the book away, looking pensive. "Yes. The pieces just don't match," he responded.

"About the attacks?"

"Not only that. Himiko-san was attacked, as were you and Matsuzaki-san. But Matsuzaki-san is older than Hara-san and Hara-san was not attacked despite her standing next to us during the second attack. And even if we label Matsuzaki-san, who is nearly twenty-six years old, as young, why was the late Toyama-san, who was forty-seven when she fell to her death, killed? Is it really true that the house is dangerous for young women?" Naru asked, but Mai knew he was only thinking out loud and wasn't expecting her to answer.

Mai paused, thinking this through. She hadn't considered that. "Oh, you're right," she said, surprised.

"I know I am," Naru replied shortly, and Mai almost smiled. He truly was a narcissist, and someone really needed to open a dictionary for him and point him to the 'modesty' entry. But then, if he weren't such an overconfident, sly person he wouldn't be Naru.

She thought about his words, her hands fluttering over the neat piles of papers Yasuhara had arranged by incident. Himiko-san's mother really was the exception in a long series of incidents involving young women. "Himiko-san told me that Toyama Rie-san was not her real mother, and that her father married her only this year. Perhaps the happiness of newly-weds made her young in spirit?" she offered dubiously.

"Even if that were true, why would the spirit make this exception? Especially when there was a younger female who matched the pattern better in the house?" Naru countered. "Then there is the matter of the attacks on the men. John and Bou-san are both exorcists, yet only one was attacked. Yasuhara and Lin were not attacked, yet I was. Why?"

"Maybe Bou-san was attacked because he was performing an exorcism at the time?" Mai suggested.

"Unlikely. Also, I wasn't performing an exorcism," Naru reminded her.

Mai had been giving the matter some thought over the last day but hadn't come up with a satisfactory answer, other than it may not be Asagiri Sanae. But she had a feeling that if she told Naru that and told him that she thought so because of how filled with love she was in her dreams Naru would say that she was being an idiot again.

Suddenly Mai had an idea. "Ah! I know! The spirit attacked only those it could reach! See, Bou-san was busy with the exorcism, Ayako doesn't have that much power and you and I can't really exorcise spirits. But both John and Lin-san are powerful, so the spirit couldn't touch them, and since Yasuhara-san was wearing the protection bracelet Lin-san had given both of us he was spared too!" she cried victoriously. "I solved it!" she added excitedly.

"Hardly," Naru didn't seem impressed with her theory. "You were wearing the bracelet as well during the first attack yet yours was torn. Also, Lin's powers cannot affect spirits, only corporeal objects, and without his Shiki he is just a regular man," Naru cut through her theory without even being too merciful about it.

Mai frowned, curious instead of getting annoyed at his brashness. "But Lin-san had preformed a summoning before. He had summoned Nao-san, why do you say that he has no powers?" Mai asked, confused.

"Lin summoned Suzuki Naoko by means of Onmyodou, an ancient form of wizardry. He has no powers over spirits. He had spend a very long period of time when he was young in a strict training program studying the ways of Fukodou(5) and Jugondo, which are-" Naru started to explain automatically, but Mai cut him off excitedly.

"They are the earliest form of Onmyodou that reached Japan, during the Asuka period. They dealt with vanquishing monsters and freeing people or objects from possessions. We studied it earlier this year!" Mai said in a rush, proud to have known something without Naru having to explain it to her.

Naru looked at the book he had pushed away earlier, his expression unchanged and unreadable. "Your point being?" he asked uninterestedly, and Mai folded her arms on her chest indignantly.

"Shouldn't you be happy? You're the one who's always saying that I need to get smarter," she accused him petulantly.

"And once that day comes I will be overjoyed," Naru replied, and Mai clenched her teeth with annoyance. Like there's a chance that one day Naru would actually be _over_joyed, and what's with the attitude!?

"You're impossible! You're supposed to encourage me, aren't you? If you can't, can't you at least keep your mouth closed?" she complained.

"It was you who had asked a question. Isn't it rude not to answer?" Naru asked calmly back, the picture of innocence.

"Why must you always kill the good mood!? I know that you're always saying that you'll explain 'for Mai's sake' for me to get smarter, but why can't you show some support when I'm actually learning!?" Mai complained when she had no good retort for him. Really, he was annoying. He was always saying things like how she had no capacity for learning and was therefore not worth training(6), and was always explaining things for her sake. She knew that he was trying to give her tools to help her deal with the paranormal world, but still! She was capable of learning on her own as well!

When she next turned to look at him, Naru was smiling in genuine amusement, and Mai's breath hitched in her chest while a wild blush bloomed on her cheeks. He looked so beautiful when he smiled, so relaxed, that she didn't know whether to be angry at him for laughing at her or forgive him for being a complete jerk.

By the time Mai recovered from the effects of Naru's smile, his face returned to being somber and serious once again. "Something doesn't feel right, but what is it?" Naru returned to their original topic of discussion, not even looking at Mai anymore.

Mai turned serious as well, and sighed ruefully. "A pity, my theory could've worked well. Especially since Lin-san and Yasuhara-san have turned out to be lovers, then it would be logical for Lin-san to protect Yasuhara-san," she said, almost to herself.

Naru looked at her, deep in thought.

Mai sighed, looking at the ceiling. "I know this reasoning is faulted too, because John wasn't protecting anyone as he's not in love with either me or Ayako. At least, I hope not. He's a priest, it's forbidden for him," she was now talking to herself because Naru was clearly not bothering with her.

"What did you just say?" Naru's eyes were suddenly wide open and he seemed struck with a realization. Maybe he was paying attention after all, but Mai couldn't see what was so exciting about what she had said.

"I said that John is a priest?" Mai asked, bemused.

Naru nodded. "And as a priest he has taken a vow of celibacy," Naru added.

"Yes," Mai confirmed, still not seeing where he was going with this.

"Why didn't I understand it as soon as you told me about Lin and Yasuhara-san? This is the link. Neither Lin, nor Yasuhara, nor John are interested in women," Naru explained, but Mai could see that his brain was already miles ahead. However, at his explanation her eyes widened as well and she brought her hand to cover her mouth in surprise. Which meant that there was also something in common for those who _were_ attacked.

"That's true. And only today I told Bou-san that he and Ayako were fighting like…" she trailed off, but Naru completed the sentence anyway.

"Like two children who are actually in love with each other."

As opposed to what Naru thought, Mai wasn't stupid. She could point out mistakes as well, and in his theory there was one mistake that caused her heart to beat faster in her chest. "What about Masako, then? Why wasn't she attacked as well last night?" she asked, her hands clenching at her sides. Could it be because the spirit recognized her feelings for Naru? But, more importantly, could it have recognized feelings in him for her as well? Could he be-

"Hara-san joined us later. In our first encounter with the spirit there were only four individuals who could possibly have any romantic interest in any of the opposite sex. Therefore Hara-san wasn't attacked as the spirit had become fixed on the four of us prior to her arrival," Naru explained logically, and Mai's heart sank. Of course it all had a perfectly reasonable explanation.

"This is more serious than I had thought," Naru sounded concerned, and Mai swallowed against the disappointment.

"Why?"

"Asagiri Sanae was betrayed by her fiancé whom she loved very much, and by her own sister. But even though her fiancé was the one who betrayed her, she had been going after women and not men. And even though both Bou-san and I were attacked, it was Matsuzaki-san who was pulled towards the cliff's edge," Naru began, and Mai looked at him in alarm.

"Naru?"

"I am also certain that if we look at the women who were killed, we will find that all of them were either in love with someone, engaged to someone or had recently married someone," Naru added.

"What does this mean?" Mai asked, scared.

"It means that Asagiri Sanae wants to make other women suffer what she had suffered. She can't stand to see other women happy when her own happiness was ruined," Naru said, and Mai gasped.

_ "They make me sick, and they make me even sicker when they flirt with each other… especially when I'm suffering from so much pain. I'd have them go through the same thing that I went through."(7) _

Unbidden, memories flashed in Mai's mind of the ghost they had convinced to move on from the park where she would drop water on passers by if she thought that they were lovers. She was hurt too, but she didn't have the power to do anything on this scale. Here, on the other hand… Mai shivered violently.

"Mai, stay here where there are protection charms. I'm going to recall Bou-san and the rest. Asagiri Sanae is a danger to us all," Naru said in a harsh voice before walking out of the base, his command clear, and Mai nodded absently.

No. It couldn't be Asagiri Sanae. How could someone so full of love do such hateful things?

The spirit was trying to cause people pain. Masako had said that the spirit was drawing power from the other women's suffering.

No. It can't be.

It… couldn't be Asagiri Sanae!

~*~*~*~*~

_Day 4, night. _

Naru had contacted Yasuhara while he was still in town with Lin, and Yasuhara was quick with performing the research he needed to investigate the new lead at the local library. He had returned with Lin and the groceries, but also with answers.

"It seems as though the boss was right," Yasuhara said, rearranging the new stack of papers in his hand and placing them on the table.

"Really? All twenty-two of them?" Ayako asked in disbelief. They were all gathered in the base, and even though Ayako was still hurting, she was so adamant on participating that Bou-san eventually huffed and helped her to a seat. She had promised them that she was getting better, and would be on her feet by tomorrow morning.

"Yes. As we already know, Asagiri Sanae was engaged to a governor's son who betrayed her. The Tennouji family moved out shortly after their son's new bride was killed, and the Morimoto couple, who inherited the house from the son's parents, were married only three years. The twin daughters of the Itsuki family were both engaged, but died shortly after the wedding of the first.

"Shido-kun, the young factory manager, was married for only a year, and the couple who was together the longest amongst the group of department heads was only married for four years. The Ozumi girl was engaged when she was pushed to her death and Hasukawa had just met the woman who was killed here through a matchmaking service. The Koizumi woman's granddaughter who died had recently married her husband, and we already know that the five deaths that occurred while the Toyama family were starting their business were all of engaged women. We now also know that Toyama Rie-san, who died last, was married to Toyama-san for less than a year," Yasuhara finished going through the incidents, and most people in the room gasped in horror.

"The Toyama business must have made for a feast for the spirit," Ayako shuddered. "And when they stopped coming when the business' reputation got ruined because of the killings, the spirit came after the mistress of the house."

"To be killed during such a significant stage of life," John murmured sadly, looking at the floor.

"No wonder they are all suffering. They were so happy and they were torn away from that happiness so brutally…" Masako said, voice pitched low with sorrow, and Mai wanted to say that maybe it wasn't Asagiri Sanae. That it couldn't have been, but she wasn't sure. Was it simply wistful thinking? It wasn't her intuition… or at least, she wasn't as sure about it being her intuition as she had been in the Yuasa case.

"So now the spirit is thinking that Naru, Mai, Ayako and I all have romantic potential and that's why it's coming after us?" Bou-san seemed more amused than he probably should have been, and leered at Mai. "I always knew that you were meant to be my wi-"(8) he was cut short when Ayako punched him, thankfully.

"Pervert!" Ayako and Mai both yelled at the prone figure twitching on the floor.

Masako brought her kimono sleeve up to her mouth, but her eyes flashed sullenly at Mai. "It seems that the spirit is smarter than us. If it's not Takigawa-san that Mai is interested in, it must be Naru that the spirit recognized feelings for in her. Do you like Naru, Mai?" Masako asked, direct, and Mai felt her cheeks set aflame. She looked down, biting her lips. Masako knew that Mai loved Naru, of course she did or she wouldn't have bothered rubbing the special relationship she had with him after she had begun blackmailing him in Mai's face. Why, then, did she ask such a painful question?

"The reason the spirit had set her eyes on Mai and me was because that in your absence there were only two women present, Hara-san. Spirits know nothing about humans, and can't therefore be smarter than them in matters of emotions or fortune," Naru said, so coldly that Mai started. Even Masako looked surprised as how hard his tone was. He hadn't mentioned anything about Lin and Yasuhara.

"Then what do you want to do, Naru-chan?" Bou-san asked into the strange silence that settled after Naru's words, getting up from the floor and taking care to put some distance between him and Ayako.

Naru regarded Masako for a moment longer before turning to look at Bou-san, and Mai wondered what the meaning of their unspoken exchange was and why he would even be looking at Masako for so long. "We need to perform Jorei. Even though Asagiri Sanae seems to be fixed on the cliff's edge where she herself died, there's no telling what might happen," Naru ruled. Mai looked around at her silent teammates, waiting for any of them to say something, but even Masako seemed at peace with his decision.

"But that would kill her for sure!" Mai said finally when no one came forth.

"Yes," Naru agreed calmly.

"But…" Mai struggled to find words to stop Naru from doing what he planned without revealing why. She couldn't tell him that she didn't believe Asagiri Sanae did it simply because of her dreams, he would surely mock her. "But we can't! Not after everything she had been through!" Mai said finally.

"Her grudge is deep, Mai. She would not be persuaded to pass on with talking," Ayako said and Mai looked at her, betrayed.

"Can't we simply warn newly-weds not to come live here?" Mai asked, grasping at straws.

"Even if we could, they say that a woman's grudge will curse you for a hundred generations, and only five have passed so far. We won't be around for the next ninety five that are still to come," Ayako said.

"But…" Mai trailed off, her feeble protest dying on her lips.

"Is it because of your dreams, Mai-san?" John asked gently and Mai looked down, giving up. She nodded, a small movement of her head, in the faint hope that if she did maybe Naru would stop. She braced herself for his mockery, but it never came.

"Than you should know better than anyone, Mai, how strong her grudge must be if she loved him as strongly as you claim," Naru said coldly, his tone final.

They would go on with the Jorei as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> (1) The uchikake is a formal wedding kimono. During the Edo period is was custom to have a three-day long wedding. On the first day the bride would wear a white uchikake to symbolize her willingness to adapt to her husband's household, a red one on the second day to symbolize protection, and a black one on the last day, though I don't know what the meaning of that color is.
> 
> (2) A Jibakurei is a land spirit. It is a human spirit that is trapped at a particular location due to specific reasons or events from their past life or fate. The running joke in the anime was how Ayako always assumed that every paranormal phenomenon occurs due to the presence of Jubakureis.
> 
> (3) In both the manga and the anime it is shown that Mai had two long braids when she was sitting in front of her mother's plates when retelling about the death of her parents.
> 
> (4) I know that people like to set Lin up with Madoka, but somehow I never saw the two of them together. And while this is primarily a het fic, I'm a slash writer and I couldn't resist the temptation. Other than it working well for the plot, ever since I saw the anime scene where Lin chants the Orikiri chant to Yasuhara I thought that they would look good together…
> 
> (5) This is an anime reference. Fukodou is an ancient Chinese conjuration in the dark arts. In truth, in the novels Bou-san speculates that Lin is actually a Taoist priest practicing Chinese curses. The truth has yet to be revealed, but I liked the anime addition so I also used it.  
> (6) This is a direct novel quote. Yes, Naru is that big of a jerk.
> 
> (7) For all the anime fans, this is the manga version of the sentence "I wanted them to get colds and die" from the episode Ghost Stories in the Park.
> 
> (8) In the manga and novels, when Mai tells SPR about her being an orphan Bou-san offers for her to be his wife so that he could support her. Her answer was that she would rather work…


	6. Chapter 6

_Day 5, morning. _

The night was quiet, luckily, and the team had a chance to prepare to execute their plan. It really was an ingenious plan, and it required everyone's participation.

Naru claimed that the first stage of the exorcism should be reducing Asagiri Sanae's power by taking away all the spirits she had collected around her and who fed her power through their sorrow. For that end Lin had created a circle of runes on the floor that would allow spirits to come in but not leave.

Masako was supposed to sit inside the circle and summon the spirits to possess her, like she would when channeling them during a séance. Once she was possessed, John would exorcise the spirits one by one. Bou-san was to erect a Kekkai(1) to keep the other spirits from interfering, taking it down when the exorcism was over so that a new spirit could possess Masako. Ayako was supposed to chant purification prayers to distract the spirits further and to keep them away.

Mai hadn't been able to sleep the entire night, both because she couldn't help but worrying about Asagiri Sanae and because Masako was meditating in preparations for the upcoming mental and physical strain she was about to be put under. Masako would have to concentrate very hard in order to call out for the spirits because they would be acting in broad daylight. It was safer, but spirits hate light.

Ayako slept like the dead.

Mai prepared the tea very early in the morning since most of the team woke up at the crack of dawn. Not having slept a wink that night, Mai thought that she might as well be useful and served all of her teammates freshly brewed black tea whenever their cups went dry.

After the morning tea Mai helped Naru and Lin close all windows in the house and secure the drapes over them to keep the sunlight from coming in while Yasuhara repositioned the cameras according to Naru's instructions and took that day's temperature readings.

Mai and Yasuhara, lacking the ability to help in the spiritual department, were supposed to document the phenomenal cooperation. Apparently, Naru's peers in England and the United States were very interested in SPR's activities in Japan, and had asked him to document everything he could for them to study.

After consulting with Masako, Naru decided that they would work from the most recent incident backwards, which meant that the first spirit to be exorcised would be the late Toyama-san. Masako had explained that since Toyama-san's death was recent and her family still alive, her sorrow would be the deepest and posed the most significant contribution to Asagiri Sanae's power. Also, she was less bound to the place, having died not that long ago.

"Shouldn't we call Toyama-san and Himiko-san?" Mai asked when Masako positioned herself inside the rune circle Lin had drawn on the floor.

"It's dangerous. Besides, would you want them to hear their beloved mother and wife suffering?" Naru answered, and once again Mai was struck by how merciful he could sometimes be.

Naru looked at the monitors. The only person who was not in the room with them was Ayako, who was sitting in the north wing of the house with her mirror, young branches and tea offering arranged before her on her white alter. She was still moving a bit stiffly but she had insisted on helping them, and Naru said that even incapacitated she would be useful to them.

Bou-san was sitting next to the window, meditating. He had positioned five Tokkoshos(2) around the room, and was prepared to erect a Kekkai on Naru's command. John was standing against the wall dressed in his priest's robes with his holy water and bible in hand, prepared to take action the moment Masako was completely possessed.

"Everyone ready?" Naru asked. Mai bowed her head. She hated it. Duping the spirits into entering Masako's body only to forcibly remove them soon after. Logically, she knew that Naru was right and that as long as the rest of the victims were around, they would never be able to reach Asagiri Sanae. Even Masako had told Mai (indirectly, since she wasn't speaking to Mai since their conversation about Mai's feelings for Naru) that they would be doing the poor women a favor by putting them out of their misery.

To Mai it still seemed cruel.

"Let's start," Naru said once he got everyone's approval, though his gaze did linger on Mai for a moment longer than on the others. He turned off the lights and all the monitors other than that showing Ayako's position, which was merely dimmed, and nodded to Masako.

Masako nodded back and lit a stick of incense by bringing the tip into the flame of the sole candle in the room, which stood in front of her. She then sat back and brought her hands together, a mala(3) resting between her fingers.

The room was quiet while she prayed, and Mai watched with apprehension. She was so intently focused on Masako, that she almost jumped with surprise when Naru came to stand next to her, arms folded over his chest.

Masako's face suddenly twitched and she fell forward slightly. Even though she hadn't opened her eyes Mai could see the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Bou-san, Matsuzaki-san, now!" Naru spoke quietly into a small microphone but his sharp voice conveyed his urgency.

Bou-san sat up straighter, his voice deep and purposeful as he chanted. "On Kirikiri Bazara Bajiri Horamanda Manda Un Hatta. On Amiritodo Hanba Un Hatta. On Biso Hora Dara Kisha Bazara Hanjyara Un Hatta. On Asanmangiri Un Hatta. On Shau Gya Rei Makasan Maen Sowaka."

Bou-san had erected the Kekkai, his words making the jewels on the Tokkoshos glow, and even though Mai couldn't hear Ayako, she could see her waving the Haraegushi and moving her lips over Lin's shoulder. Lin was supposed to watch over her in case she was attacked once more, but so far nothing seemed to be happening.

"John." Naru only had to say the priest's name, but it was enough. John stepped forward and sprayed the holy water across Masako, while his foot blurred one specific rune to enable the spirit to leave Masako's body and blink out of existence. Lin had taught him what to do earlier when the preparations were still underway.

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. _In Principio. _"

As John's hand came down, cutting the air, Masako doubled over and gasped. When he hurried towards her and helped her sit up straight once more, her eyes were open and over her left eyebrow was a small, arched scratch that was slowly trickling blood down her cheek.

"Hara-san!" John called with alarm. "Are you alright!?"

Masako looked around, concentrating, before nodding her head with satisfaction. "Yes, it's nothing serious. More importantly, she is gone," she confirmed, and Bou-san, even though he hadn't stopped meditating, had dropped the Kekkai to conserve his powers, and the Tokkoshos had stopped glowing. That, too, was Naru's idea. The Kekkai would trap the spirit inside. If the exorcism was for some reason unsuccessful, the spirits couldn't run.

Mai looked away, not wanting Naru to see the sadness in her eyes. Usually, when they summoned a spirit, they talked to it. They explained to it that it was dead. This time, Naru hadn't bothered. He simply had them removed.

"Good," Naru said from beside Mai. He was looking at her again, Mai felt it, but she didn't turn her head to meet his eyes and he left her side to watch the monitors. Once he was there Lin left his seat to redraw the blurred rune in preparations for the second round.

"Matsuzaki-san, how are things outside?" Naru asked into the microphone.

"…I respectfully offer forgiveness… oh, you're done already?" Ayako stopped her chant and looked at the camera. "Actually it's been very quiet here. No sign of any activity, but it could be because it's daytime," she reported, and Naru nodded to himself.

He turned to look at the room, and once again his eyes lingered on Mai. "We'll continue as soon as you're ready, Hara-san," he informed them.

~*~*~*~*~

_Day 5, afternoon. _

By the time early afternoon finally arrived, they had successfully exorcised the five engaged women who had been most recently killed when coming to consult with the Toyama family regarding their wedding: Fujikawa Haruka, Nishima Nurikazu, Ichijou Shuu, Tamiya Hinako and Asou Reiko. They also managed to exorcise Koizumi Yuki, Ozumi Kahoko, the woman Hasukawa had been introduced to and whose name was Asato Ruri, and Shido Hana and the seven department heads' wives who were killed with her.

Having dealt with the bulk of the spirits, Naru called for a lunch break and recalled Ayako from her position. He had to report to Toyama-san and explain to him what was being done in his house in the meantime, and left the room while the rest of the team piled out and started making their way to the dining room.

Mai made them all lunch, watching her exhausted teammates as they settled next to the dining table. Bou-san was so exhausted that he hadn't bothered folding his legs under him as he slumped at the table, and Masako was now wearing Mai's clothes (which she grudgingly accepted as she had no other options) and drying her hair after having been completely drenched in holy water.

Even Lin looked tired, and Yasuhara privately explained to Mai that into every rune he drew Lin had to pour some amount of power in order for it to hold and having to draw the runes again and again was taking a toll on him as well.

They ate in silence, most of them settling for white rice and steamed vegetables, and gave Mai grateful looks whenever she refilled their cups with a fresh batch of green tea.

After lunch, Naru returned and declared that they would continue only after everyone had had a good rest, and the mediums and exorcists were more than happy to retire to their rooms and sleep. Yasuhara, Naru and Mai were left along in base, having done nothing tiring during the day, and even though Yasuhara suggested that Mai take a nap as well she turned him down as she didn't want to disturb Ayako and Masako from their far more important slumber.

Instead, they both did some cleaning and tidied the base while Naru was going over the camera footage from the morning and afternoon. He seemed to be unusually alert, so much so that Yasuhara commented on it to him.

"Is everything alright, boss? You seem worried," Yasuhara asked, taking Lin's usual seat next to Naru. Mai, who was sitting in one of the chairs in the back of the room, looked up when he asked it.

"I had expected some sort of a reaction. We are sapping the spirit's power and without it she would be unable to continue with her killings, she should be angry. I'm concerned about this silence. I can only hope that it doesn't mean that the spirit has set her eyes on something else, something that does not require the power she was gathering from the suffering women she had killed," Naru explained.

Mai yawned. She hadn't slept last night and even though the chair was hard against her back, it was getting comfortable for her boneless body. She was tired now that she had nothing to do, and being in a dark room doing nothing but watching something she despised for most of the day was not helping her be more alert and awake.

She tried to fight it, knowing that Naru didn't like it when she slept during work hours, but both Naru and Yasuhara lapsed into silence, each busy doing something else, and with the windows closed and the sun streaming in the base was warm.

Without her control, Mai's eyes closed and she began dreaming.

_Mai was wearing the embroidered uchikake and caressing the silky fabric. Her hair was already done up in the bunkin-takashimada style and adorned with golden combs and bells, and the white wedding hood, the tsuno kakushi, was covering her hair(4). It would be the last of her letters to Naru because in a short time she would go out and their marriage ceremony would start, but she needed to let the words out or she might burst. Soon, she would meet Naru in the garden gazebo and together they would march to where their families were waiting._

_'Sometimes I wonder why I've been so lucky. Your love brings the best out of me. I am strong, but I was never brave. I don't know how I was able to confess my love for you a second time after I had been rejected the first time. I only knew that I would never love again if I didn't tell you. So even though you had thought I was not serious, that I was not in love with you, I had to correct your mistake, even at the price of my heart's wholeness. _

_'How happy I am now that your love has brought that strength out of me, since now you are mine. Saeko asked me today how much I love you. I replied that I cannot answer her. And I truly cannot. With every part of yourself you are allowing me and only me to treasure I find deeper parts in me filled with love for you. _

_'I can't wait to be your wife. My body is quivering and my soul is aching with restlessness. I want us to discover the depth of our love together, each day anew throughout our long years of marriage. _

_'Naru, I love you so much.' _

Mai opened her eyes and blinked several times in the face of the changed position of the sun on the base's floor. Her body was still filled with the emotions that Asagiri Sanae had been feeling in her dream, that _she_ had been feeling, that she sighed deeply in utter content. How wonderful it was to know that Naru, whom she loved, was hers.

Mai's eyes fell on Naru's figure, clad in black as usual and sitting elegantly on an office chair, intently reading some document, and a sharp pain pierced her chest. Naru wasn't really hers, wasn't he? He was there next to her, but he was as unattainable as the moon.

Suddenly, Mai regretted her dream ending. To love him so, and be so secure in her knowledge of his love for her, was wonderful. But the real Naru didn't love her, did he? He thought that she was in love with his dead twin brother, and had rejected her feelings without even saying it out loud.

Mai allowed her head to fall back to rest against the hard back supporter. Thinking about it logically, it wasn't as though she could blame him. She'd had no idea that the person she was seeing in her dreams was not Naru, and when she had been faced with that truth she reacted by revealing her feelings to Naru. When Naru had asked her whether it was really him that she loved, or Gene, Mai had simply started to cry.

She hadn't given him a literal answer, and so it was to be expected that he'd take her reaction as confirmation of his suspicions.

But Mai had had time to sort her feelings out. She had cried because Naru had asked a valid question: who was it that Mai was in love with? Mai had always thought that it was Naru in her dreams, and so wasn't the least bit confused that she found herself attracted to the smiles he would send her there. When that the smiling Naru turned out to be another person, Mai wasn't sure who it was that she liked. She had still been reeling from the revelation that Naru had a dead twin brother, and that she had been seeing him for over two years in her dreams.

But then Naru had left Japan and Mai found herself missing him. Not the gentle person who would smile at her in her dreams, but the jerk of a narcissist who would boss her around and insult her intelligence. Who would explain things to her to help her be more prepared for what she was about to face in the ghost hunting line of work. Who would smile so rarely, but who would be so beautiful and gentle when he did. Who would not hesitate to jump headlong into harm's way simply to protect her.

And while Naru was away, Mai had realized how ridiculous it was to think that she was in love with Gene. Sure, Gene was gentle and kind. He was concerned for her and he made her heart beat faster when he held her as they played the roles of lovers in her visions during the Yoshimi case. But when it came down to the question of whether or not she loved him, Mai realized that he was nothing but strictly professional with her. If anything, she would describe him as her personal guru, someone who would guide and teach her, show her how to advance forward and develop her skills. There never was any personal dialect between them other than their conversation right after they had found his body.

Mai thought back to Asagiri Sanae. How happy she was after winning her beloved's heart. Sometimes, it was hard to separate her own life from that she was living in the dream, and it was all the more so with Asagiri Sanae's feelings so closely related to her own.

There was only one difference between them. Asagiri Sanae had found the courage to confess her feelings to her beloved once more, despite him not believing her, and she had insisted and eventually won his heart.

Naru suddenly raised his head and looked straight into her eyes. "Is there anything wrong?" he asked, and Mai blushed. Of course he didn't say good morning, or ask how well she had slept, but that was Naru. He was brash and cold, but under that façade he was caring and kind.

Mai shook her head and looked away at the patch of sunlight on the wooden floor, her blush pulsing faintly against her rapidly healing cheek.

If Asagiri Sanae had succeeded in wining her beloved's heart, why couldn't Mai? All she needed to do was find her courage, just like Asagiri Sanae did. She needed to put things right and fix Naru's misconception. She didn't love Gene – she hardly knew him! It was Naru that she loved and somehow, after having dreamt of their wedding day, Mai had a good feeling that this time he would listen. Sure, her intuition was always about danger, but shouldn't she at least give it a go at the good things as well?

Mai took a deep breath. Yasuhara wasn't in sight, and she wanted to do it before her courage disappeared.

Mai got up from the chair and stretched a little to release some kinks. The position she had fallen asleep in hadn't been kind to her neck and shoulders. She was aware of Naru watching her, and smiled as she wandered across the room to sit next to him.

"Where is everyone?" Mai asked as she settled down in the chair Lin usually occupied. It wasn't what she wanted to ask but millions of butterflies were hitting their wings furiously inside her stomach and she needed to calm down a little.

"Yasuhara-san has gone to wake everyone up and ask them how they are feeling about continuing with the exorcism," Naru informed her, short and to the point.

"I see…" Mai looked down, smiling. She could go on endlessly with the small talk, but that would get her nowhere. Taking another deep breath, Mai gathered every bit of courage a young woman who had spent most of her life as a lone orphan and then a part time ghost hunter possessed.

"Naru, can we talk?" Mai asked, one hand fisted and her nails digging into the soft skin of her palm.

"Isn't that what we're doing now?" Naru commented aloofly, but he looked at Mai with a hint of amusement in his eyes and Mai took it as a good sign since it reminded her of his smile.

"Um… the thing is…" Mai bit her lip and braced herself. "I really do… love you," she whispered, looking up at Naru hopefully.

Naru's face darkened, his expression closing off. Mai had no idea how soft his eyes were and how relaxed his face was when he looked at her until she saw him changing. "That again? I don't want to hear it, Mai, especially not now when we're in the middle of a case," Naru said, a definite chill in his voice.

Mai looked up in alarm, his words piercing her, but she pushed on anyway. She was so filled with love by the dream, and she loved him so much, surely she could reach him.

"Naru, please listen! I've thought about-" she began, but Naru got up and looked at her with annoyance. How uncharacteristic of him to show it, but his next word made Mai understand why.

"I will not be anyone's substitute, Mai. Let it go," he said, his tone final, but Mai refused to give up. She reached her hand for him but he caught it midway, his eyes widening, but Mai didn't even notice since he had pushed her hand away forcefully immediately after.

"But Gene-"

"_That's enough, Taniyama-san! _ I've warned you to let it go, why didn't you drop it!? I don't want to hear about it! If you can't muster enough professionalism to behave yourself during a case than don't bother coming back to the office once we're through here! I would have sent you home right now, but the place is isolated and I can't spare any of my crew. You will not mention this again, and until you officially finish your work with my company, try making yourself useful and go measure the temperatures in the garden!"

Naru's eyes were like two blocks of ice and his mouth was set in a grim line. Every word he spoke was like a whiplash in Mai's face, even the formal and estranged way he had addressed her by her surname, and she gasped and shrank back as he moved forward, backing her towards the door.

She had made Naru angry. She hadn't seen Naru this angry since she had tried to interrupt Lin's ritual of directing the Kodoku to return to the human-like dolls instead of the students of Ryokurryou School. His words were sharp and cutting, and his gaze unyielding and dispassionate, dark and angry.

Mai backed out of the room, clutching the thermometer Naru had pushed into her hands, and winced when he slid the shoji doors of the base closed in her face forcefully.

Not only did Naru refuse to hear her confession, he had also fired her. Did he hate her so much that he couldn't stand seeing her after knowing her true feelings? And not only did he hate her that much, he thought that she was a liability on the team? Mai felt tears well in her eyes and closed them tightly, trying to control the hurt that was weakening her body.

She turned around and ran towards the garden, not even pausing when the rest of the team passed her by on their way to the base and Bou-san called her name. She didn't want to see any of them. She was hurting, and breathing was hard against the pain. She didn't need Bou-san's awkward attempts to cheer her, or John and Ayako's pity. She needed to be away.

Mai burst into the garden and closed her eyes against the setting sun. She was feeling lightheaded from hyperventilating, and she bit her trembling lower lip to keep from making a sound. She wanted to cry with pain and rejection, but at the same time wanted to cry with anger at the injustice of the situation.

Why had Naru reacted that way? Mai knew that he had often questioned her intelligence, but did he truly believe that she didn't know what she was feeling? Or was it that he didn't believe that she could love him? He did tell her that he wouldn't be anyone's substitute, but she didn't want him to be! What meaning did the smiling figure in her dreams have if it wasn't Naru!?

Mai hugged herself, cold with loneliness, misery and because of the dropping temperatures on the rapidly darkening mountain. The change in the temperature, as did the thermometer still tucked against her chest, made her remember the reason she was sent out and the harsh words coming out of Naru's mouth that had dismissed her like he didn't need her anymore.

Mai leaned back on a bench in the garden and held a hand to her lips. She sat back, taking deep breaths and tried to find some calmness within the raging hurt inside of her. Her chest felt tight and her throat closed, and even though she was biting her lower lip her chin still trembled. Naru had rejected her and that was…

Mai closed her eyes and, with effort, emptied her head of all thoughts. Bou-san had taught her to do it in preparation for an exorcism, as a joke, but right now Mai was desperate enough to try it. Naru hadn't just gently rejected her, hadn't been understanding and kind. He hadn't even mocked her intelligence. He had pushed her away cruelly, and he couldn't care one way or another that Mai's feelings were genuine.

Just when Mai thought that she had finally calmed down and could open her eyes without being overwhelmed by her emotions, a light in the window she was sitting next to was turned on and the yellow blear caused unpleasant afterimages to dance behind her still closed lids. When the after images cleared, Mai could see that the lit room was the base, with everyone in it.

Bou-san and Ayako stood close together, so close that their shoulders grazed each other. Lin and Yasuhara were bent down next to the electronic equipment, both immersed in something on Lin's computer screen. John was standing next to the door, dressed in his robes, and…

And in the center of the room were Naru and Masako. And as Mai watched Naru's hands came to cup Masako's cheeks and he leaned closer, his thumb brushing over the scratch on Masako's temple from before. Masako was smiling and blushing, and the two of them were talking quietly…

Mai gasped. So it wasn't that he didn't think she could love him, it was that he already loved Masako. Was this what the significant gaze Naru gave Masako after she asked Mai about her feelings was all about?

And everyone… everyone saw the two of them and was fine with it. Had everyone known except Mai? Foolish, foolish Mai, who had to confess her feelings to Naru when he was already taken?

But then, Mai should be happy, shouldn't she? That Naru had a good reason behind rejecting her, and that Masako, who was also in love with their handsome boss, had finally won her own happiness? She should be happy for both her friends…

Mai heard a pathetic sound, like a sob and a whimper combined, and with a start realized that it had come from her. That her cheeks were wet and her lower lip was once again trembling violently. She couldn't be happy for them, not after what had happened!

Naru's rejection hadn't simply taken her hope away, it had also taken away the only thing she could call a family.

Mai bolted off of the bench when her next breath came out as another sob, not wanting anyone to see her. She ran deeper into the garden, not caring that she was openly crying, not even caring that the little light on the garden's camera, which was meant to indicate that it was working and broadcasting, wasn't in fact blinking.

She didn't even care when she stumbled on a tree root and fell down to the ground, the thermometer flying from her hands and rolling away, mere meters away from the edge of the cliff. All she wanted was for this torture to end.

She had no idea how badly she had banged her head when she fell, but when she opened her eyes she knew that she was no longer conscious.

Mai was dreaming.

_Mai looked down, recognizing the garden gazebo at the cliff's edge, but it was day time and the garden was painted violet with the spring blossoms, therefore it couldn't be the present. Whenever her vision was taking her, it was a beautiful day._

_A man and a woman were standing in the gazebo, and the man was embracing the woman closely. Somehow, there was something wrong about the scene. The man's expression was calm, suited for his handsome, well sculptured face. But on a closer look, Mai would say that he was nearly stony in appearance, and calculative. And the woman seemed slightly crazy, her smile too serene to be true, like an ugly parody of happiness. _

_Mai looked around her, and as she had expected, Gene's form immerged from the mist around them. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her and frowned in dismay, but Mai had no desire to see him at the moment. His brother had caused her enough pain, and seeing Gene smile so beautifully with Naru's face was beyond what Mai could bear at the moment. _

_Gene was trying to say something, obviously frustrated, but his voice didn't carry over to Mai. Mai fleetingly wondered why he hadn't come closer before shutting all thoughts of him and his brother away and turning her back on him to concentrate on the vision. Somehow, being in the astral realm was making it harder to be removed from her emotions._

_Someone was coming towards the embracing pair, and Mai knew immediately who it was. Hadn't she worn that same white uchikake less than an hour ago in her vision? It was the same decorated fabric she had caressed under her hands when she was so full of love for Naru. _

_Which meant that the person who was wearing it now was the real Asagiri Sanae. And the man wearing the lush kimono and embracing another woman in the gazebo was her betrothed._

_Asagiri Sanae marched down to the garden gazebo and stopped dead in her tracks, her radiant face going pale and her beautiful brown eyes widening as she took in the scene in front of her. _

_"Saeko? Ichinomiya-sama? What is going on?" she asked, one delicate hand coming to cover her mouth, which was open in surprise. _

_"Do you mean to tell me that you had not known all this time? That I was accepting your beloved in my chambers every night? That when he needed a break from your tiresome sanctimoniousness he would come to me?" Asagiri Saeko, her eyes glinting with vengeance and something akin to madness, stepped out of the man's arms. _

_"And now, dear sister, I am carrying Ichinomiya-sama's child. Imagine what will happen if it is a boy?" Asagiri Saeko approached her sister, her hand resting lightly on her still flat stomach. "My son will be Ichinomiya-sama's heir and I will be his first and only wife," she whispered in her sister's face, yet Mai could hear it clearly._

_Asagiri Sanae's pretty face crumbled and she turned to the man still standing in the gazebo. "Ichinomiya-sama, please tell me that it is not so!" she begged the man._

_The man, Ichinomiya-sama, looked at her without remorse or sympathy. "If Saeko is carrying a boy in her womb, she will become my wife and her son will be my heir, Sanae. I cannot abandon my own son," he told her, voice practical and harsh._

_Asagiri Sanae wiped away a stray tear with a shaky hand and smiled, almost like it was all one big mistake. "But-"_

_"There are no reservations, Sanae. An heir is the primary goal of every marriage. I shouldn't bother with trying again if your sister can already provide me with one," he told the trembling woman coldly._

_Was this the man Asagiri Sanae had felt so full of love at the mere thought of in Mai's visions? It couldn't be. This was not the type of man to open up to someone and reveal weaknesses, even if it was someone he loved. But then, Naru had opened up to her and he wasn't the type to do so either. _

_No! Mai's mind rejected the comparison. There were no similarities between Naru and this man. This man was cold and cruel and Naru… well, in light of his recent behavior, could Mai really claim that he was not also? _

_Determined to cast the matter away, Mai resumed watching her vision just as Asagiri Sanae turned to look at her sister. "But why, Saeko? I thought that you cared for me as I have cared for you. Why would you take Ichinomiya-sama away from me when you knew that I love him so much and he…" she trailed off, and her sister laughed in her face._

_"He loved you? He did not, Sanae. Those were all merely your wistful thoughts and dreams. He had consented to marry you because you were a good stepping stone to enter the royal court," she told her sister cruelly, smiling all along, and Mai nearly flinched. Why was she so evil to her own sister?_

_"Then does he love you?" Asagiri Sanae asked in a feeble voice, her face so pale Mai thought she might faint. _

_"Love me? He despises me just as much as I despise him!" Asagiri Saeko claimed vehemently. Ichinomiya-sama didn't even look bothered by her words, his silence confirming their truthfulness._

_"Then why-"_

_"Because I had to take him away from you! You were always the perfect princess. The one who always got everything she ever wanted. The one who made father and mother proud, the one who was smiled at whenever she passed through town. I always had to settle for second best because of you!" Asagiri Saeko gave her sister a rough shove, causing her to stumble backwards. She nearly tripped on the hem of her uchikake, but managed to right herself and continued staring at her sister with disbelief._

_"Saeko-"_

_"I had to take him away from you. Even after he turned you down you still chased him, and just when I thought that here was something you wanted yet could not have, he accepted you! And you turned insufferable. You were always wandering around the house, sighing blissfully, so full of your love for him! It was not fair!" Asagiri Saeko continued with her angry tirade, shoving her sister again and again until they were both standing at the cliff's edge._

_"People came to you to bless them with fortune in love as you had had. Everyone always looked up at you, and no one ever noticed me! I could have been as graceful and inspiring as you are, but I was never given the chance. Because you were always there, and I was always in your shadow! You were always the loved one while I had no one to love me!" _

_"That is not true! I loved you-" Asagiri Sanae's reply was cut short when her sister slapped her across her left cheek, and Mai was horrified to see that the sister's fingernails had left five bleeding gashes. So this is why they all had such wounds as well, it was an imitation of the scratches left from Asagiri Saeko's slap. _

_"I never wanted your love," Asagiri Saeko growled lowly. She placed one foot back and Mai had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. Ichinomiya-sama didn't see, because he was still standing in the gazebo and looking with only mild interest at the fighting sisters. _

_"I wish you had never been born!" Asagiri Saeko screamed at her sister, and her hands came up and pushed her sister violently, sending her toppling over the edge of the cliff._

_"NO!" Mai screamed, trying to run towards the falling figure, but it was too late. The vision melted into darkness around her, and she was left alone. _

Mai stood in the darkness of her own mind, her heart throbbing in her chest and tears stinging her eyes at the vicious, premature end of such a profound love.

She turned, however, and blinked when a light appeared in the distance, and watched with apprehension as it grew larger and larger still. She had no desire to see Gene, not after what Naru had done and not after the vision she had just witnessed.

But it wasn't Gene. As the figure grew and took shape, Mai could see that it was definitely not Gene.

There, at the vision's end, stood Asagiri Sanae, and upon seeing her Mai's mind became blank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> (1) A Kekkai is a shield, similar to the one Bou-san had created to keep the zombies away in the Yoshimi case.
> 
> (2) In the anime they were called vajra, though in the Manga Bou-san used them both. A Tokkosho is a Buddhist tool made of metals and ivory, with a place to grasp it in the middle and two sharp ends.
> 
> (3) A Mala is a Buddhist rosary. Masako was seen using it on several occasions.
> 
> (4) The Japanese culture is rich with traditions. Everything that I've mentioned above was a part of the wedding traditions of the nobility of the Edo period.


	7. Chapter 7

_Day 5, night. _

Noll was staring at the data pad in his hands, uncomprehending and uncaring, comfortable with being immersed in his own dark mood. Lin and Yasuhara were re-watching the footage from the first day, from when Mai and him had ran across the spirit in the storage basement, Hara-san was talking quietly with John and Matsuzaki-san and Bou-san were standing close together and probably laughing at him and Hara-san for their previous actions.

But Noll was busy being angry at Mai. Why did she have to do that? Why did she have to confess her feelings for his brother to him and break the precious balance they had developed when he had offered her a job upon his return to Japan?

He really should be concentrating on the exorcism, he knew. He was wasting valuable time, giving the spirit time to recover. They needed to exorcise all of the insignificant spirits before they could touch Asagiri Sanae, and he wanted to complete this task while she was still confused.

But one look at his pathetic team showed him that he had no one to turn to. After returning from their rest, his mediums and psychics were still exhausted from the unusually intense use of their clerical powers and were not keen on resuming the exorcism. They had all had tea – which Noll didn't touch seeing as it was made by Hara-san – and were content to talk quietly amongst themselves and keep away from Noll's path.

That aside, Hara-san was injured. Her eye was swelling from the scratch she had received when they had first begun to exorcise the spirits, and the sleep and her continuing fatigue seemed to have made the bruise stand out more. Noll had checked it himself, concerned that it might be similar to the five parallel gashes that were still stinging on his cheek, but even after he had rubbed Hara-san's makeup away he could see only one.

Hara-san had blushed under his wandering fingers, and Noll could tell that she was happy to be touched by him like that, even if it was purely professional. As opposed to Mai's stammered, infuriating speech, Hara-san was very straightforward in revealing her affection for him. He was very straightforward as well when he told her that he was not interested, but that didn't seem to deter her. She was still smiling sweetly at him, but it only served to further anger him because it reminded him of Mai's confession.

Mai, who got under his skin. Who could make him lose control even though he had spent most of his life training to retain it at all cost. Who could goad him into doing things he would never normally do. For whom he would risk everything. Who could wrestle a smile out of him almost against his will. Who was so confused she didn't even know who she loved, and he had to suffer the brunt of it.

Noll clenched his teeth.

He had read her. He had always respected other people's privacy and refrained from using his psychometry on them without their consent unless they were in danger, but Mai had a tendency to make him lost his painstakingly achieved self control and he couldn't resist. And what he had seen was the spark that had set fire to his ever boiling anger and resentment.

He knew that in her visions Mai was experiencing Asagiri Sanae's life as if it was her own, and that she had felt the love Asagiri Sanae felt as if it was hers. And that the person who starred as Mai's lover in her visions was Gene, which led the foolish girl to confess her misguided love to Noll. She was projecting it, and if he cared he would probably pity her for the hardship she faced when she had to work with someone whose face was identical to the dead person she truly loved.

The first time she had said those words to him, Noll had bottled his own hurt feelings inside and asked her who it was that she truly loved. After all, she couldn't possibly be in love with him. He had done nothing but mock her, insult her and irritate her. He had stayed by her side when she cried, and he had assured her that she would see his brother again.

They were both confused at the time, Noll from finding his brother's body and from discovered that his brother still lingered on this side of the spiritual world and was in contact with his assistant. And Mai from discovering that Noll hadn't the ability to project his spirit into her dreams and that the kind person she was meeting there was actually his dead twin brother.

He had assured her that she would see his brother again, and every word was like poison in his mouth. For the first time in his life he was angry at Gene to the point of hating him. Why must he take the only thing Noll had ever truly wanted, when he wasn't even alive to enjoy it?

Gene had always been the kind one. The sympathetic and the gentle one. Being a medium he related to people, while Noll related to science and facts. When faced with the choice of an identical package but two different personalities, most girls would choose Gene, and Noll never begrudged him for that. They were all gullible and annoying, and he had no particular interest in any of them.

But Mai got his attention from day one. She was the only one who wasn't deceived by his good looks, and was not afraid to dive headlong into an argument with him over something she thought was right, even if most of the time she stood very little chance of actually winning it. In spite of what he always told her she was, in fact, clever, and he admired her ability to be so passionate about everything and to sympathize with everyone.

And wasn't that the crux of the matter? Mai and Gene were so perfectly alike, that it was only reasonable that they would fall in love with each other. They would have made the perfect couple, had he been alive. They were practically made _for_ each other, and what a tragedy it was that they met only after Gene had died, Noll thought bitterly.

He clenched his teeth so hard that a sharp spark of pain shot up his jaw and made him wince.

At least this farce wouldn't go on. Not after what he had said to Mai. He had been cruel, but even he had a limit. And Mai always knew exactly what to say to invoke a reaction from him, she just didn't expect that particular one. He would not play a substitute for his brother, not even for her.

Noll suddenly felt a small twinge in his stomach, the same one he had learned to identify with being next to his brother. Looking down, he realized that without noticing it his hand had come to rest on Matsuzaki-san's ceremonial mirror, and that the reflection moving in it was not his own.

After he had returned to Japan, he was overjoyed to discover that he could still contact Gene(1). Having his brother torn away from him had been a shock, and it had felt like his own heart was ripped out of his chest. When he had the vision of Gene dying, he was so affected by it and in so much pain that he turned catatonic for a whole day. He still had nightmares about it sometimes, and he was still learning to live with the absence of his other half who had balanced him in so many ways. Despite everything he had said, there was a part of him that was selfishly happy that Gene for some reason hadn't moved on.

But now, seeing Gene in the wake of Mai's confession, Noll seriously considered turning Matsuzaki-san's mirror over.

Noll stared, hostile and angry, at his brother's reflection. Gene didn't seem to notice since he kept trying to tell Noll something, but Noll couldn't hear him. The connection must be weak and Gene must be tired, since Noll could only see his brother's lips moving without a sound. He shook his head, signaling his brother that he didn't understand him, and not even making a particular effort to do so.

Gene glared at him and for a moment, Noll thought that his brother would fold his arms on his chest petulantly. He used to do it every time they fought when he was alive, and while Noll usually had no problems sitting in his chair and staring at the mirror, now he had more important things to do, with brooding being number one on his list.

Gene's patience seemed to finally snap. He lifted his hands for Noll to see, and used a basic, childish sign language to spell Noll a simple sentence.

M-a-i I-s I-n D-a-n-g-e-r.

Noll's eyes widened and he got up from his chair abruptly, the mirror and his brother's image forgotten.

"Oh? What's up, Naru-chan?" Bou-san asked, but Noll ignored him. He approached the monitors and immediately focused on the garden camera, where he had sent Mai to measure the temperatures in his anger.

The monitor was blinking a red message saying 'Error'.

"Lin, what happened to the garden camera?" Noll demanded of his assistant urgently. Lin turned to look at it, pausing the footage he and Yasuhara-san were watching, and gasped. Obviously, he had been unaware that the camera had stopped broadcasting.

Noll quickly rewound the tape, but the last of the video had been taken while the sun was still in the process of setting. Mai wasn't seen anywhere on it, and Noll wanted to curse himself for chasing Mai away to where their violent and dangerous spirit was.

"Boss?" Yasuhara-san asked, confused. However, his brilliant mind didn't take long to catch up, and he looked around quickly. "Where is Taniyama-san?" he asked sharply.

"In the garden," Noll replied, already making his way to the door.

"Don't tell me…" Bou-san started, but Noll didn't stay in the room long enough to hear it. He was running to the garden faster than he had ever run before, everyone else in tow. It was good that they were, because if something happened, he didn't actually have the tools to deal with it himself.

Noll slid open the garden's shoji door so wildly that it nearly slid off its rail, but he was through it and rushing through the garden before it had even banged open against the frame.

If something happened to Mai…

Noll spotted Mai's prone body on the ground, and ran straight towards her. She was fine, thank goodness, and had not been dragged over the cliff, but she was also unconscious and he didn't know whether to be relieved or concerned that she had been found. What was wrong with her?

But looking up at the sky, Noll answered his own question. Obscuring the pale moon was a sinister black cloud that hovered next to the cliff's edge. She was here, Asagiri Sanae, and she must have something to do with Mai's unconsciousness because she would have dragged Mai over the cliff by now if she hadn't. Maybe she was also the reason Gene was unable to make himself heard in the mirror. She was powerful enough to block Gene, and who knew what else.

"Naru-bou, watch it!" Bou-san called behind him, and as Noll slowed down both he and Matsuzaki-san ran passed him, Matsuzaki-san nearly toppling over in her haste to kneel next to Mai. Bou-san ran past Mai and stopped next to the unconscious girl's head, already standing in position. John wasn't far behind him, his stole billowing behind him with the speed of his jog.

"Naumaku Sanmanda Bazara-"

"In the beginning was the-"

"Stop!" Hara-san's voice, short of breath but still sharper and louder than Noll had ever heard her use, caused both exorcists to stop mid-chant. "Mai's spirit is also up there!" she exclaimed, looking up at the darkness hovering ominously over the cliff's edge with tears in her eyes.

Noll could hear his teammate's shocked cries, but he didn't care. His own eyes widened with realization, and he was nearly physically sick with self hatred.

Why hadn't he figured it our before!?

~*~*~*~*~

Mai looked at the figure in front of her, radiating unearthly light against the warm darkness that was wrapped around them both. She was beautiful, still dressed in her white uchikake and with her hair worn loose and carrying on unseen wind. Her large, brown eyes looked immensely sad and hurt. She had the look of someone who had been hurt by a loved one and yet, if asked, Mai was convinced that she would forgive him. There was a kind of vulnerability to her that Mai could relate to.

"I'm sorry," Mai said, sensing the need to apologize for having been witness to such a traumatic experience. She knew who the figure was because she had just seen her, but somehow she was feeling numb and pleasantly sluggish in the warm darkness.

The woman laughed, even though her eyes were sad beyond recovery. "Will you come to me and be with me?" the woman asked, reaching a hand for Mai. "You, who understand me so well?"

Mai looked at the woman. Did she understand her? She must have, or the woman wouldn't say that, but why?

With effort, Mai recalled her own mind succumbing to the inevitable truth about her own loved one's cruelty during the vision, and bowed her head. Tears she didn't fully understand threatened to spill from her eyes and she bit her lip, not answering.

"We have been through something similar. Come with me and I will be your support. You will know no pain. Like this, there is no more pain. You simply _are_," the woman said, her voice clear as bells and her eyes earnest and hopeful.

There was something wrong with what the woman said. Mai knew that, but her mind was so slow, like she was trying to fight off sleep, that she couldn't point out what it was. All she knew was that this woman was beckoning Mai to come with her, and that Mai's soul was weary from fighting and hurt from rejection.

She saw no reason to reject the woman's offer.

~*~*~*~*~

Noll gasped as he looked at the darkness looming above their heads. Why hadn't he realized it sooner? The reason why Asagiri Sanae was so quiet while they sapped her power from her was not because it was daylight, or because of Matsuzaki-san's chanting. It was because she had put her sights on Mai, who related to her and who felt what she had felt during her visions. She planned on using Mai's sympathy for her to lure her in and take Mai's own power.

And with Mai's latent power at the spirit's disposal it would be impossible to remove her.

Moreover, to get to that kind of power, she would have to kill Mai.

"Mai! Come back here this instant!" Hara-san seemed to be following the same line of thought as he was because she walked forward and pointed at the ground with a firm finger, taking the tone one would use when speaking to an unruly child.

"Is she's still up there?" Matsuzaki-san asked, near panic, while she cradled Mai's body against her chest. Mai's brown hair was in disarray and fell into her face, and Matsuzaki-san kept patting it agitatedly in an attempt to get it to lie back down. "Mai! Come back! Please!" she begged the darkness.

"Mai!" Bou-san was yelling abruptly, and Noll heard a note of panic in his voice. "Jou-chan, please come back!"

"Mai-san, it's dangerous! You much return immediately!" John made to reach out with his hand, but thought better of it and instead used his voice to try and call Mai back. "She doesn't mean you well, Mai-san!"

"Taniyama-san! If you stay there you will die!" even Lin sounded alarmed, his shoulders and back tense and ready to leap to action. But unlike all the others, he was bluntly stating the truth, and Yasuhara-san next to him looked pale and frustrated at his words.

"Hara-san, anything?" Yasuhara-san asked the medium worriedly.

Noll looked at her as well, but she was pale and worried, her eyes fixed on the sky where Mai probably was. She shook her head jerkily, not even bothering to look back at any of them. "No, we're not reaching her. She is befuddled by the spirit. I don't know how that came to be, but she is under the spirit's control," she said in a trembling voice, and the entire group turned as one to look at the sky again, frightened.

"Mai!"

"Mai-san!"

"Mai!"

"Taniyama-san!"

"Mai!"

"Taniyama-san!"

Noll simply stared up at the sky, allowing the concerned, sharp words to slide past him. He couldn't see her, and he had no tools with which to deal with this situation. He couldn't exorcise the spirit, nor could he jump over Mai and save her. He was powerless to help, and it was rapidly frying his self control just like the fear of losing Mai was rapidly frying his usual reserve.

~*~*~*~*~

Mai looked down at the people calling her. She had a feeling that she knew them, but she didn't remember from where. A memory was trying to surface, but Mai's mind was still numb and lethargic, and she was unable to form the images properly.

"Won't you come?" the woman before her asked once more, and Mai nodded. She looked back at the people below but when nothing came to her, she turned her back to them. She had no reason to go down there.

~*~*~*~*~

"MAI!" Hara-san's scream was so loud that Noll nearly winced.

"What is it, Masako!?" Bou-san demanded of the medium, his frustration over being unable to see Mai's spirit evident in his ferocious frown. Noll also turned, watching Hara-san go so pale that John reached out for her with a steadying hand.

She fell into John's arms and he eased her to the ground, and when she looked back up at them her face was tear-stained. "She turned away," Hara-san said brokenly. "Mai does not recognize us, and she turned away from us. She has no reason to return to us!" Hara-san cried, and buried her face in her hands.

"Wha…" Matsuzaki-san's mouth opened in horror. "Why doesn't she recognize us? What kind of a hold does that damn thing have over her?" she demanded, her anger fueled by her fear.

Hara-san made an attempt to control her sobs and shook her head in response. John was still crouching next to her, but his eyes went back and forth between his charge and the looming darkness next to them. "I don't know. It could be anything, from Mai's visions into the past to some sorrow inside her that the spirit is taking advantage of," Hara-san said chokingly.

"Sorrow?" Bou-san sounded suspicious. "When we saw Mai on her way to the garden, didn't she look upset? Did something happen between you and her, Naru?" he asked, so sharp and angry he hadn't used any endearing suffixes, but Noll wasn't paying attention.

"And why would she go to the garden on her own?" Matsuzaki-san demanded, no less sharply, finding an outlet for her anxiety in blaming him. "Answer us!"

Noll didn't even hear them. Hara-san's words were echoing in his ears. He knew what Mai's sorrow was, and suddenly knew what the spirit's hold on Mai was too. Hadn't they both suffered disappointment by the hands of someone they cared about? It was this that made for a common base between them and allowed the spirit to draw Mai to her.

Regardless of what Mai truly felt, she believed that it was Noll she was in love with. His rejection must have made her vulnerable, and her natural instinct to trust people and relate to them was all it took for her to fall into Asagiri Sanae's hands. Untrained and uncontrolled, she had allowed her spirit to wander away from her body and straight into the trap laid out for her.

It was because of him that she was in this predicament in the first place.

And he was the only one who could fix it.

Noll was a proud creature. He knew that, and was told that often. But when he first met Mai and talked to her about his job and the amount of success he had had in his work, he was not trying to brag. He was delivering accurate data but, having not known him very well at the time, Mai had decided that he was a show-off and a narcissist. Ever since she had let that fact slip, he enjoyed behaving according to her expectations. He was never a narcissist but the occasional comment would set Mai off on an angry tirade and he would always find himself fighting with his traitorous, suddenly-prone-to-smiling mouth.

But he would never deny that he was proud. He had no reason to, seeing as he had every reason to be proud. And so, when Mai had confessed her love to him for the first time and he had asked her who was it that she truly loved, all he could think of was that if she would only love him, he would bow his proud back to her as low as she would ask.

Now she wasn't there to ask, but it didn't matter. Even if she loved Gene, he loved her and he was responsible for her well being. What good would his pride do if he couldn't save the one thing that mattered to him the most?

Noll looked down only to see an angry Bou-san standing practically in his face and speaking to him in a harsh tone. "…my curse will haunt you down to the rest of your bloodline…" Bou-san faltered when Noll side-stepped him without so much as a glance and came to stand next to Mai's body, still cradled in Matsuzaki-san's protective grasp.

His teammates all quieted down when he knelt next to Mai and took her frozen hand in his, holding their joined hands close to his heart. He couldn't lose her. He wouldn't, not if he could help it.

"Mai, come back to me," he looked up at the darkness, focusing on nothing in particular but still no less intense. "I don't want to lose you, Mai. Come back!" he called at the darkness, hoping she would hear. That his words would reach her.

In the stunned silence that followed his words, his whisper was clearly heard, he knew. He didn't care.

"_Please. _"

~*~*~*~*~

_ "I don't want to lose you, Mai. Come back!" _

Mai started when she heard the new voice calling her. Something about that voice was familiar, and it caused her heart to beat faster. Who was he, and why was he invoking such a reaction in her?

_ "Please." _

That word brought recognition like an explosion of light in Mai's head.

Naru! And Bou-san, Ayako, John, Masako, and even Lin and Yasuhara! They were all looking up at her, all wanting her back.

Even Naru… after everything he had said? But then, Mai had never heard him asking something of someone like that, or seen such an intent expression on his face. Why? Hadn't he rejected her?

"Come to me!" the woman before her, Asagiri Sanae, demanded. She was not so beautiful and fragile as she had seemed before, and Mai fought against the strange pull she felt coming from her. The darkness around her was now freezing cold and Mai shivered, taking a step back.

"Do you not hate him!?" Asagiri Sanae demanded, and there was so much loathing in her voice and eyes that Mai instinctively recoiled. She looked down at Naru who, she now saw, was holding her physical hand against his heart, and smiled sadly.

"No," Mai answered. She was angry at him for breaking her heart, and she was furious that he had lied about the reasons he did it. She was hurt by his cruel words and definitely thought that someone should teach him some manners, but she didn't hate him. Hating and being hated was unnatural. If they all kept on hating, then wouldn't nobody ever be able to move on? What would become of humanity then?

That aside, she loved Naru. She was angry and insulted and hurt by him, but she would never hate him. Wasn't this the essence of loving someone? And now, Naru wanted her to come back - all of her friends did. Even if Naru didn't accept her feelings, for him to go to such lengths to save her meant something too.

Mai turned towards her friends, but stopped to look over her shoulder at Asagiri Sanae. "I don't hate him. I could never hate him, even though he hurt me!" she exclaimed.

That's right. That was what was wrong with what Asagiri Sanae told her before. Even in the spiritual world, there were still emotions. And Asagiri Sanae was surrounded by the darkness of her grudge and hate. Mai never wanted to become such a thing. To hate and be hated for all eternity… it was sad.

~*~*~*~*~

Hara-san gasped suddenly. "Mai is looking at us!" she said excitedly, wiping her wet face clumsily with a handkerchief John held out for her. "Mai! Please come back!"

Noll's hand tightened on Mai's.

"Mai!"

~*~*~*~*~

Mai turned to face Asagiri Sanae head on. "I love Naru. It doesn't matter what he does, I will always love him. Aren't you the same?" she asked the spirit.

Asagiri Sanae's pretty face distorted with an ugly expression. "How can I be the same!? I was betrayed by my sister and my husband-to-be! I can feel nothing but hatred!" she cried, the darkness around her thickening.

"You were betrayed, I know," Mai said, folding her palms over her heart. Seeing that vision broke her heart, especially knowing how much Asagiri Sanae loved the man she was supposed to marry. "But you also loved him, didn't you? And if he would have asked, you would have forgiven him for all the wrongs he had done to you," Mai stated. She remembered the vulnerable expression she had seen on the spirit's face just after the vision ended. She was sad beyond recovery, but her love for the undeserving Ichinomiya-sama ran as deeply as her sorrow and shone in her eyes still.

"I would never do such a thing!" Asagiri Sanae shrieked, cruel and nearly insane in her vehemence. "I have no love in me remaining to allow me to forgive him!"

"I don't believe that. And furthermore, you have spent so long hating, and have caused so much harm… you can continue doing so for another hundred generations and still not be happy. All you would feel is hatred and sadness, and you will cause others sadness and make others hate you… what good would that do!?" Mai cried passionately.

"You said that what you have gone through left you unable to feel anything but hatred, but how are you different!? You made so many women feel the same, separating them from the people they loved… if you know how painful it is to feel this way, why would you make them go through it as well? You were hurt when your sister, whom you loved, said that she hated you, but if you continue the way you are now you'll be hated by everyone. And that's… its just sad!" Mai was short of breath by the end of her heartfelt speech, her hand fisted against her side and her eyes staring solemnly at Asagiri Sanae.

"I… I would never be a part of that!" Mai declared finally, defiantly.

Before she turned her back on the spirit, she could see endless sorrow and pain in her eyes again.

~*~*~*~*~

_Day 5, night. _

Mai felt someone's arms around her, and someone holding her hand. She was cold and her head hurt, but there was a warm body cradling her and a gentle hand stroking her hair. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking straight up at Ayako.

"Mai!" Ayako exclaimed, surprised and relieved at the same time. "Are you alright?" she asked, her hands skimming Mai's forehead, cheeks and pulse point with the efficiency of a doctor.

"Taniyama-san!" Yasuhara was bending over her, and someone was helping her stand up on unsteady legs. Everyone was looking at her with relief and Mai smiled, a warm feeling coiling in her chest. She was back with her friends again.

"Takigawa-san, now is our chance!" Lin called sharply, interrupting the reunion, and Bou-san tore his almost starved gaze from Mai and turned to look back at the darkness looming in the sky above their heads, frowning so fiercely that Ayako and Mai gasped. Mai had seen him frowning this fiercely only once before when he had been hurt by those white lights during the Yoshimi case.

"You're right," Bou-san said, his voice nearly raw with anger. "On Habahaba Kyuuta Sabataruma Sabasaba Kitsudokan Tatsuri Tutabotitsu Takimei Karasantan Uenbi SOWAKA!"

And then, just like that, the darkness in the sky dissipated and the sky was clear and calm once again. The breeze that blew past them was warm in comparison to the coldness from before, and the moon over their heads only contributed to the serenity that suddenly enveloped the mountain. The air was clean, almost as if Bou-san not only exorcised the place but also _purified_ it.

Bou-san straightened, looking back and forth between his still interlaced fingers and the sky. He seemed disturbed. He was still breathing hard from the release of such a great power from within him, but he hadn't dropped his guard and Mai felt Ayako pulling her further into the safe haven of the older woman's arms.

"Don't get me wrong here, but wasn't that too easy?" Bou-san asked suspiciously, looking around him.

"Are you sure that she's gone?" Ayako asked, but it was Masako who nodded.

"She is gone. And with her gone, the remaining spirits that were trapped here were freed to pass on and leave this place as well," Masako confirmed, also looking around them.

"After all the trouble we've been through to get to a point where we could exorcise her, and now she's gone with only one try?" John asked, dismayed.

But Mai knew the truth. This was her intuition at work, and she was sure of it just like she was sure that Kasai-san was not the one who cursed her fellow students during the Yuasa case, and that taking on this case was dangerous. She smiled sadly, looking down at the ground.

"She wanted to go," Mai said quietly.

Ayako looked down at her, surprised. "How do you know?" she asked.

"Because she was hurting and sad. She let herself be removed, she wanted this to end," Mai said, by way of explanation. She didn't know if it was clear enough, but it was all she could offer.

"And you were the one who told her that continuing as she had would not make amends for the past, aren't you?" Masako asked, no hint of haughtiness or sarcasm in her voice, and Mai simply nodded.

This wasn't the way she wanted things to end. Bou-san's chant, powerful as it was, due to it being fueled by his anger, was meant to remove Asagiri Sanae by way of Jorei but never stood a chance of succeeding on its own. In the end, Asagiri Sanae had allowed herself to be killed. She had ceased to exist, and would never be able to pass on. Mai guessed that she had been stuck on the mountain with her grudge for so long, that she didn't even know _how_ to pass on anymore and had become a land bound spirit. And in the end, what happened to her was for the best. Such an existence was a miserable one.

"Mai, you idiot," Masako said, anger in her voice, and Mai raised surprised eyes at her, wondering where that came from. "Even someone as dim as you should have known better than to allow such an atrocious spirit to draw you in," she chided, lifting her nose high in the air with disdain, and Mai smiled. Masako really was worried, if she had allowed her emotions to get the better of her.

"You really had us scared for a moment, jou-chan," Bou-san said, turning to look at Mai with a frown on his face.

"Yes, when I saw you on the ground I thought that you had already died," Ayako said, voice uncharacteristically soft and subdued. She released Mai and was now looking at her with relieved eyes.

"And you didn't even hear us calling, at first," John added.

"When Masako told us that you had nothing to keep you here, I thought that I had truly lost you, Mai," Bou-san added, his voice gruff and subdued as well, and Mai waved her hands at him.

"That's not true!" she exclaimed. She couldn't let her friends keep on thinking that. "I… well, I didn't even remember who I was or who you were. It was like my mind was blocked and uncooperative… but it's _because_ I have all of you that I came back!" she emphasized. "Your calls made me remember it. Even Naru's…" Mai trailed off. That's right, Naru was also there.

She turned to look at Naru, for the first time since waking up. Somehow, in the rush of getting her back on her feet, their hands disengaged, and while her teammates and friends were all reprimanding her Naru stood behind Ayako and her and remained silent.

Mai smiled sadly, moving two steps closer to him and raising her eyes to look at his pale figure draped in black. She wanted to assure him that she understood why he did what he did. "I know that you were concerned for me because I'm still your responsibility," she started. Naru was looking at her in a weird way, an expression on his face like nothing Mai had ever seen before. She had no idea if he was angry at her or maybe simply thinking that she's stupid like he usually did, so she plowed on. "I know that you didn't mean it in any other way, I just wanted to let you know I und-"

Mai's words were cut off when warm, dry lips descended on hers while long, slender fingers cupped her cheeks in a strong grip and angled her head to get better access to her mouth. She looked up, surprised, straight into Naru's blue eyes so close to hers, and gasped. Naru drank her gasp greedily, the opening of her mouth under his allowing him to send his tongue passed her lips, and the warmth of him nearly made Mai melt.

Mai had no idea what was going on, but Naru's lips on hers were unrelenting in continuing the light pressure and sensual movement and his tongue showed no signed of stopping from exploring the inside of her mouth. She closed her eyes and raised her hands hesitantly to his face, fingers moving over five o'clock shadow and healing scabs and burying themselves in thick, silky hair that wasn't entirely straight. The point of contact between them was warm and pleasant, sending Mai's nerves tingling when Naru's thumbs brushed her jaw-line, and got even better when Naru shifted his hold on her and crushed her body against his tall, solid frame.

Just when Mai thought that she was going to die a happy death by suffocation while receiving her first kiss, Naru released her lips and allowed her to take a single deep breath before kissing her gently again, and a second time before letting her go completely. He slowly pulled away and was probably aware that she had regained the strength back in her legs because as soon as she had he pushed her to arms length. They were alone in the garden, their teammates having gone back while they were preoccupied with each other, though Mai had no idea when that had happened or how long their kiss had lasted.

Naru stood tall in front of her, his hair falling into his eyes and hiding them from sight but his mouth, while kiss bruised, was an unhappy line. "I did it for the exact same reasons you thought I didn't. I care about you, Mai. Even if you love my brother, I can only hope that you will learn to love me as well," he said, voice pitched low and slightly hoarse, and Mai gasped. Was this the proud Naru she had always known?

Her astonishment lasted for about a second before her anger was rekindled. She put her hands on her hips and frowned at Naru. "This again?" she asked, annoyed, in imitation of his words to her from earlier. "I know that you think that I'm stupid but I'm not stupid enough not to know my own feelings. Why would I love Gene, I don't even know him!" she told Naru pointedly. Really, kissing her and then saying such things, he really hadn't heard of things called atmosphere and the right place and time, had he?

"I know my own brother, Mai. He was kind and empathetic and always smiled at everyone. It was easy to fall in love with him. In comparison, I'm not an easy person to like," Naru said, and Mai had a feeling that he was clenching his teeth.

She huffed. "And what meaning would his smiles have? He's not you, so even though his smiles are nice it means a whole lot more when you're the one who wears them," she stood firm on this point, but when Naru remained stubbornly silent, she sighed. Did he think so little of himself so as not to believe that she could love him? In a way, it was endearing.

"I have never had a personal conversation with Gene. He's my teacher and my guide. It was exciting only as long as I thought that it was you in my dreams. He may be nice and caring and kind, but so can you. You're also annoying, self-centered and overconfident, but I wouldn't have you any other way!" Mai said defiantly, looking at Naru the entire time.

When Naru finally raised his eyes to meet hers, he looked completely taken aback. She had caught him off guard, and the hope and disbelief she saw shining in his eyes caused a thrill to run down her back. The more of himself he revealed to her the more deeply she fell in love with him, and how happy she was to feel it in reality as well.

"I love you. I don't know how much clearer I can make this," she said, folding her arms over her chest and sighing. If this didn't get though to him, nothing probably would.

Suddenly she was being held again, Naru's arms wrapping around her and bringing her to rest against his chest while one hand was burying itself in her hair. "Then don't ever leave me," Naru's unusually earnest voice said straight into her ear.

Mai smiled, unfolding her arms and wrapping them around Naru's back, burrowing her face against his warm shirt. "I won't," she stated confidently, and he hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her head to kiss her once more, this kiss full of promises for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hold on - an epilogue is on its way! :))
> 
> (1) The novels reveal that Naru, after returning Gene's body home, was able to contact Gene if he focused his thoughts on him. Also, if Gene entered a mirror he could see the real world through it, and if Naru touched the mirror with Gene in it, they could even communicate. In truth, when Gene first entered Mai's dreams he was actually trying to contact Naru. It only took him three years to figure out how to do it.


	8. Epilogue

_One week later, afternoon. _

"Mai, tea."

"Coming!" Mai called back, and then sighed. Really, Naru was an addict. He drank at least ten cups a day, and she was sure that there was research on the damaging effects of too much tea somewhere out there. Beside, it was the second time he was asking for tea and interrupting her in the middle of reading a very important passage on the Wisdoms of Buddhism for her upcoming test.

But still, Mai couldn't help but smile. After having solved their case and saved the Toyama residence from evil spirits, Naru had finally taken Mai on a date. True, it had been to the Tokyo National Museum, but he was kind and they had held hands while walking and Naru made sure that Mai understood everything, especially the Buddhist concepts. And, as much as she hated to admit it, it did help her in her understanding of the stuff she was currently learning in her Buddhism course.

Mai marked the page she was reading, threw a questioning glance at Yasuhara, who signaled her that he didn't want tea at the moment, and entered the kitchenette. She filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove to boil, pouring the tea into Naru's cup in the mean time.

Mai wished she could have said that things were different after the Toyama case, but in truth not much had changed. Naru still bossed her around and he was still a rude man and a workaholic, but it was him that reached out to hold Mai's hand when they were in the museum and he had smiled three times in one day, so Mai couldn't really complain. Having Naru all to herself after work was well worth putting up with him during working hours.

Her friends, on the other hand, had now taken a completely different approach. Bou-san and Ayako both couldn't stop teasing Mai about the passionate kiss she had shared with Naru during the case. They were so delighted in asking her all sorts of intimate questions that even Naru's most severe glares didn't deter them. John, predictably, was happy for his friends, and Even Lin seemed a bit more relaxed. Yasuhara had joked once (carefully away from Naru's earshot) that maybe it was because Lin didn't have to put up with Naru's moods now that he was a bit happier. Mai privately thought that he might be right, but didn't reveal this to any of her co-workers or her boyfriend. Simply imagining the glare Naru would give her if he ever heard was enough to chill her to the bone with fear.

Masako, predictably, was cool in her attitude towards Mai. She was always a sore loser, Mai knew, but she had also caught Masako looking at Naru and her one day at the office and smiling a little, and knew that her friend would eventually come to terms with the change in the team dynamics. It wasn't as though Mai could blame her, because when she had thought that Naru had chosen Masako, she discovered that she couldn't be happy for them herself. She could only hope that it wouldn't take Masako long to get over losing Naru to Mai.

Naru had explained to Mai what happened with Masako on that fifth night of the investigation, and seemed genuinely surprised that Mai had thought what she did. And if Masako was aware of Mai in the window when she allowed Naru to inspect her scratch, there was no evidence of it in her behavior and Mai wanted to believe that she didn't so she was content with leaving the matter be.

Without that worry in the way, Mai was truly happy. She now really had a part of Naru all to herself, and she was unwilling to share it with anyone else.

She was also happy to have met Asagiri Sanae despite the horrible things she had done, because her own love for Naru felt like it was compensating for the tragic end of Asagiri Sanae's. She and Naru were slowly learning to be with each other in the physical sense as well as the emotional one, and every time they discovered a new way to fit together it was bliss. If he was any normal person Mai would probably be able to relate to Asagiri Sanae's words about rediscovering their love every day anew, but he was not and Mai was fine with that.

It wasn't easy, being with Naru, because most of the time Mai couldn't read him well enough to know whether he had finally truly believed her words about how she felt for him. Nor was it easy to wrestle out of him the admission that he hadn't kissed too many girls in his life and was therefore not as skilled in that area as he was in others. Mai thought that his disgruntled face when he had said that was quite endearing, and the kiss she had given him then was more than enough to make up for the hardships that she knew she was about to face when loving him.

Masako had no reason to be so disappointed, Mai thought when she checked on the temperature of the water. The two of them wouldn't have lasted more than an hour before killing each other. She never really understood how difficult he could sometimes be, and was still looking at him as someone that it's ridiculous to love but a pity to hate(1). Mai was someone who knew how to compromise and when to stand firm on things, while Masako was too much like Naru and was ruled by her pride.

The water finally boiled, and Mai made Naru his favorite black tea before putting it on a small tray and carrying it to his office. She had come to like that smell early on since she always associated it with Naru, and now she breathed it in deep before knocking on his door.

"Enter," Naru called from the other side of the door, and Mai opened it to find Naru standing next to his bookcase and leafing through a book.

"I've brought you your tea, Naru," Mai said and made her way to his desk to put the cup next to his data pad. It was scribbled in his unreadable connected scrawl but some of the Japanese on it Mai recognized as the names of some of the books they had in the reception area and mentally prepared herself for replacing them once he was done. Even though she was now a part time investigator and Yasuhara was the one who did all the administrative work, he was still compiling the report on the Toyama case and Mai knew he would appreciate it if she would do the replacing herself.

"Just leave it on the desk," Naru said without even looking up from the book he was reading. He was so absorbed in it that he hadn't even noticed that Mai had already done as he had asked before he even asked it.

Mai stared. He was still working? It was a very quiet day, even by their standards. There were only a few relatively sketchy articles in the paper, and once Naru had picked the two most promising ones to investigate Mai and Yasuhara made quick work in eliminating the possibility that the rest had anything to do with the paranormal. Knowing Naru, he should have long been finished researching his share, how did he manage to find so many other things to do?

Mai frowned. He was simply trying to escape from saying something polite like 'thank you', wasn't he? There was no way there was so much work to do. He simply didn't want to say things like 'sorry for interrupting' or 'thank you for the effort'. The big jerk. She was his girlfriend, she expect that he would at least acknowledged her tea making services, especially since he seemed like he couldn't live without it. She had, after all, left her studying to brew him the tea. She didn't expect it every time, but once in a while a kind word would be nice.

Mai sighed. She might as well wait for the cherry trees to bloom in August. Some battles were simply lost.

"Mai," Naru called after her when she turned to walk away, and Mai turned back with a pounding heart. Could he-

"You forgot my afternoon snack," Naru reprimanded her lightly, eyes blue and severe when he raised them from the book he had been previously preoccupied with.

Huh?

"What aftern-" Mai began bemusedly, but was cut off when Naru moved forward and easily captured her mouth in a searing kiss.

No way, he couldn't have called her for tea now only to kiss her, could he? Because that would be… Mai didn't know what that would be because her brain stopped functioning as Naru deepened the kiss.

Having had plenty of practice in the last week, Naru now expertly slithered his tongue into Mai's mouth and flicked it against her sensitive roof before slowly pulling out and licking her stinging lips. Naru knew exactly how Mai wanted to be kissed, and he was now stepping back with a smug look on his face while Mai attempted to get her bearings back and recover from the onslaught.

"It was actually quite delicious," Naru remarked composedly, stepping back to take his tea before settling in his desk chair to smirk at Mai and enjoy the sight of her face rapidly changing colors, not even bothered when Mai finally got her embarrassment under control and slammed the door to his office shut after her when she stormed out.

That jerk was simply unbelievable!

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> (1) A manga reference, and isn't it sweet… poor Naru, with that kind of an attitude he would probably be better off with Ayako.

**Author's Note:**

> (1) Itadakimasu: a polite greeting said before a meal. Loosely translated, it means "I shall accept". Saying it before a meal indicates good manners.


End file.
